Diseases

Crop diseases like Tar Spot, Goss’s Wilt, Sudden Death Syndrome or Frogeye leaf spot can have a big impact. Learn more about specific crop diseases in Iowa and different management practices to minimize their impact on crop yields.
Timely Insights on Diseases
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June 9, 2025Content Author
The soybean cyst nematode (SCN) is Iowa’s most damaging soybean pathogen. It is widespread in the state, but many infested fields go unnoticed because of subtle or lacking above-ground symptoms. A quick and easy way to check for SCN in fields is to dig roots and look for small, white SCN females. Now’s the time to do that! This blog post tells how and what to look for.
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May 30, 2025Content Author
The Crop Protection Network (CPN) has launched an exciting new free resource, the Crop Risk Tool, designed to give farmers the power to better understand the best time to manage foliar diseases in corn and soybeans. This tool is the culmination of many years of pathologists walking fields collecting disease data to provide field-specific risk values to guide timely and informed fungicide decisions.
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May 19, 2025Content Author
Soybean sudden death syndrome and Phytophthora root and stem rot reduced soybean yield by 57 million bushels in 2024. This cost soybean farmers $576 million, or $6.40 per acre of soybeans planted.
Extension workers from universities across the U.S. engage in research and outreach to help farmers and industry manage these crop diseases. One way soybean stem disease information is made available is through the Crop Protection Network (CPN).
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May 15, 2025Content Author
You won’t want to miss any of the upcoming field days hosted at the outlying Iowa State University Research Farms this summer. These field days will feature the latest information on crop production and management practices. Below is a list of the upcoming field days that will take place as well as what topics will be featured at each field day. All field days are of no cost to attendees and open to the public.
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April 28, 2025Content Author
Are you a crop scout, or interested in honing in on your crop scouting skills? Join us for our Crop Scout School on May 22, 2025 at the ISU Southeast Research and Demonstration Farm near Crawfordsville (3115 Louisa-Washington Rd). Check-in begins at 8:30 a.m., and the program runs from 9:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.