Plant Fungal Diseases

Tar spot, a foliar disease of corn caused by the fungal pathogen, Phyllachora maydis, was reported and confirmed for the first time in Maryland. County PA in 2020 and has since spread to several neighboring counties. It was first detected in the United States in Illinois and Indiana in 2015 and has rapidly spread throughout the Corn Belt. The sample collected from a Harford County farm on August 19 is the first confirmed case in Maryland.

2021 soybean fungicide trial results

Strawberry Botrytis fruit rot, also called gray mold (fig 1), is a common disease that typically drives fungicide sprays throughout a season. Flowers are considered the gateway for the pathogen, and some flower infections can stay latent until the fruit ripens while some may show up earlier at green berry stage under wet and cool conditions.

Tar spot is a foliar disease of corn caused by the fungus Phyllachora maydis and we confirmed it for the first time in Maryland from a grower field in Harford County in 2022; however, it is likely that it has been present in fields at low levels earlier than the 2022 growing season. Weather conditions across northern Maryland and Southern PA in August and September were favorable for tar spot development and pockets of disease outbreaks were reported, leading to much discussion about the disease amongst farmers and ag service providers over the 2022-2023 winter months about what to do to manage this disease in the future.

Tar spot in corn, Tar spot is a foliar disease of corn caused by the fungus Phyllachora maydis. This disease has the potential to significantly impact yield.

Fusarium wilt in Watermelons is caused by the soil borne pathogen Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. Niveum and several new races have been identified in Maryland.

Tar spot is a new foliar fungal disease of corn first discovered in the United States in 2015 and confirmed in Maryland in 2022 and was estimated to be the most significant yield-limiting disease of corn in the US in 2021 and 2022. As a new disease for our state, this project collected preliminary data on the distribution of tar spot in our state and compared the efficacy of different fungicide application timings.

Fruit and Vegetable News, Volume 13, Issue 1 (April, 2022). Topic in this issue are: Check for Allium leaf miner in onions and leeks over the next few weeks, Edema problem in high tunnel tomatoes, Using Plant Growth Regulators to Improve Apple Return Bloom, Botryis Fruit Rot (Gray Mold) and Crown Rot in Strawberries, Spring Pest Scouting in Strawberries, and Early Spring Vegetable Insect Scouting Tips.

Overview of Fungicides for Head Scab Control in Wheat

Botrytis in High Tunnel Tomatoes