Your crops are vulnerable as they grow and produce in your fields. Weeds, pests, and diseases are all doing their part to reduce your yield. That is why crop protection is key. But it is more than just mixing a tank and going out into your fields. It is using the right strategies in crafting a whole-season protection program that will start already before your crops even emerge from the soil.
Even though prices are good right now, don’t think that that is enough to bail you out of a lackadaisical approach to your disease protection strategies. At better prices, you are just taking more money out of your pocket and setting yourself up for future problems, when the prices could be uncertain.
Diseases are always a crop problem, and corn has a few main players that can really cause producers a problem. FMC?s Drake Copeland tells us more.
Copeland talks about time being of the essence in combatting these diseases. Getting your fungicide on at the right time is key. FMC launched their Xyway? LFR? product last year, which allows you to attack diseases at planting. However, you will still need to pair this with other late-season fungicides to combat those diseases that show up towards the end of the growing season.
Copeland says that we need to make sure we are using multiple sights of action. Just like with other crop pressures, you can?t rely on one solution for the whole year.
Tomorrow we will continue talking with Drake Copeland about disease management in your fields.
