At the Root of It

Beck's Hybrids

SPONSORED

Every summer, the question of whether or not to apply fungicide to corn needs to be addressed. Some farmers have seen consistent results from fungicide applications and have made it a standard practice. Others may only decide to spray if there is a major disease concern. Especially when grain prices are near breakeven levels, the decision to invest in a fungicide may not be easy. One factor that can assist in making that decision is the corn hybrid in question and how it responds to certain conditions. And the roots of that hybrid may help predict what those characteristics are.

While fungicides are typically seen as disease-management tools, there are instances when a fungicide can improve the overall health of a plant – even in the absence of disease. Beck’s Practical Farm Research program has shown during more than four years of testing that making a fungicide application at VT/R1 increased yield every time it was tested. Those same studies also show an average $19.32 return on investment after paying for the cost of the fungicide.

Those applications were made regardless of observed disease pressure. It’s important to note that the $19.32 return on investment does not factor in application cost, because that cost can vary widely from one operation to another. With custom application rates often ranging from $10 to $15 or more, suddenly the profit margin becomes much narrower, making the decision more difficult.

Evaluating a corn hybrid’s characteristics can help predict the times when a fungicide will be more profitable than the average results described, which may only barely break even. The obvious characteristics to look at are a hybrid’s tolerance to the disease pressures faced. Seed companies provide ratings for diseases like tar spot, gray leaf spot and northern corn leaf blight. If farmers know they have a history of one or more of those diseases, the hybrid ratings can be used to determine those that might benefit most from fungicide.

But there are times when fungicide provides plant-health benefits and increases yield even if little to no disease is present. New root and population research through Beck’s Root Reveal research project is helping to identify those hybrids and improve confidence in the ability to predict fungicide response.

It’s well known that increasing planting populations and the resulting final stands can increase the potential for plant stress. In the accompanying images, it’s clear to see that the corn planted at lesser populations was healthier at the end of the growing season, retaining a greener color than the corn planted at more-dense populations. Beck’s has conducted research on many hybrids at multiple planting populations to identify which products can handle larger populations and which need to be kept at lesser populations to manage stress.

Through the Root Reveal project, Beck’s researchers have seen a clear trend that has started to demonstrate that a corn plant’s roots may help predict the hybrid’s preferred population. And, in turn, predict its potential response to the plant-health benefits of fungicide. With only a few exceptions, many hybrids with a horizontal root structure tend to show more of a penalty in plant health and yield when planted at more-dense populations. In contrast, vertical-rooted hybrids tend to thrive at those populations.

That would suggest that hybrids with horizontal or balanced roots may respond better to a fungicide when planted at moderate to large populations. Reducing plant populations for those hybrids could reduce the need for a fungicide application. That can be helpful in years with tighter crop budgets or when a field may be difficult to access for a fungicide application due to trees, power lines or other factors.

Ultimately, root structure is just one of many factors to consider when evaluating the potential profitability of a fungicide application. Knowing the characteristics of the hybrids planted across a farm operation can guide scouting efforts to the fields that are most likely to show stress and disease first. It can potentially even identify fields where a preemptive application may be warranted. No application provides guaranteed profitability, but with more information guiding decisions, there’s a better chance of more-consistent success.