Will fallow syndrome be an issue in 2019 prevented plant acres?
Blog Post
In 2019 Iowa had over 460,000 prevented plant acres. As we prepare for the 2020 growing season, one concern we sometimes hear about with prevented plant acres is fallow syndrome. Fallow syndrome happens when the populations of “good fungi” known as vesicular-arbuscular mycorrhizae (VAM) are reduced due to the lack of actively growing roots. These “good fungi” help with nutrient cycling and plant nutrient uptake, particularly for phosphorus (P) in corn. Fallow syndrome is only a concern if there was little to no plant growth in a field last year (i.e. no cover crop and no weeds).