March 25, 2021 | By Rupp Seeds
The potential for corn seeds and seedling plants to become infected with a disease is greatly determined by environmental conditions, use of fungicidal seed treatments, time of planting, residue from a previous crop, and the presence of causal agents (fungal or bacterial pathogens, viral vectors, and nematodes). Genetic improvements in germination and seedling growth characteristics under cool conditions has allowed for earlier and earlier corn planting. However, early planting increases the opportunity for seeds to be affected by unfavorable environmental and agronomic conditions.
Read more to learn about a number of seed and seedling diseases and how to identify and manage them in this issue of SeedScoop.