One of the keys to achieving maximum economic returns is minimizing disease pressure, and the cornerstone of effective disease management is accurate diagnosis. This is not easy given the broad spectrum of diseases found in the field—and also given that symptoms can look very similar.

A Farmer’s Guide to Corn Diseases provides the images, tools, and non-technical guidance to help ag professionals accurately diagnose corn diseases and disorders found in the fields of the United States, Canada, and other countries where corn is grown.

This no-nonsense, highly accessible book features diagnostic keys and other extensive cross-referencing tools to help users quickly find diseases and minimize identification errors. It features…

• An easy-to-follow introduction to corn diseases and disorders

• A non-technical overview on diagnosing corn diseases in a field setting

• Disease listings organized by part of the corn plant affected

• Disease distribution maps to help narrow the search for suspect diseases

• Basic instructions for using diagnostic and scouting tools, like hand lenses

• A glossary defining the various diseases and diagnostic terms used in the book

A Farmer’s Guide to Corn Diseases also provides general management recommendations, giving growers and crop specialists an excellent primer for discussions with extension or crop specialists in their specific state or province about localized treatments.

This book is a truly collaborative effort. Thirty-three experts from more than 20 universities, agencies, and companies packed their vast collective corn disease knowledge into this highly accessible book written with the grower in mind.

Quantity Discounts Are Available for Easy Distribution to

• Field representatives and other experts at your organization

• VIP clients/customers in the corn industry

• Colleagues in state and county extension

• Fellow researchers and diagnosticians at your institution

Order the 10-book bundle and SAVE!
Order the 25-book bundle and SAVE!
Buy 2-book kit (corn and soybean) in the Farmers Guide series together and SAVE!
Buy all 3 books (wheat, corn, and soybean) in the Farmers Guide series together and SAVE!

A Farmer's Guide to Corn Diseases

Preface

Contributors

Contents

PART ONE: Introduction

CHAPTER 1: How to Use This Book

CHAPTER 2: Understanding Corn Diseases and Disorders

Impact of Diseases on Corn
Infectious Diseases
What Is Plant Disease?
   The Plant Disease Triangle
   Major Groups of Plant Pathogens
   The Disease Cycle
   Breaking the Disease Cycle
Noninfectious Disorders
The Corn Plant
   Stages of Development
   Effects of Stress at Key Developmental Stages
   Scouting for Diseases of Corn

PART TWO: Corn Diseases and Disorders

CHAPTER 3: Diagnostic Key

Field Conditions
Weather Conditions
Disease Timeline and Field Distribution
Symptoms and Signs
   General Plant Symptoms and Signs
   Symptoms and Signs on Specific Plant Tissues

CHAPTER 4: Foliar and Aboveground Diseases

Anthracnose Leaf Blight
Banded Leaf and Sheath Blight
Common Rust
Common Smut
Corn Stunt
Crazy Top
Diplodia Leaf Streak
Eyespot
Goss’s Wilt
Gray Leaf Spot
Head Smut
Holcus Leaf Spot
Maize Bushy Stunt
Maize Chlorotic Dwarf
Maize Chlorotic Mottle
Maize Dwarf Mosaic
Northern Corn Leaf Blight
Northern Corn Leaf Spot
Physoderma Brown Spot and Stalk Rot
Sorghum Downy Mildew
Southern Corn Leaf Blight
Southern Rust
Stewart’s Disease
Other Viruses

CHAPTER 5: Crown and Root Diseases

Fusarium Crown and Root Rot
Pythium Seedling Blight and Root Rot
Red Root Rot
Rhizoctonia Crown and Brace Root Rot
Root-Lesion Nematode
Sting and Needle Nematodes
Other Nematodes

CHAPTER 6: Stalk Rots

Anthracnose Stalk Rot
Bacterial Stalk and Top Rot
Charcoal Rot
Diplodia Stalk Rot
Fusarium Stalk Rot
Gibberella Crown Rot and Stalk Rot
Pythium Stalk Rot

CHAPTER 7: Ear Rots

Mycotoxins
Aspergillus Ear Rot and Aflatoxin
Cladosporium Ear Rot
Diplodia Ear Rot
Fusarium Ear Rot and Fumonisin
Gibberella Ear Rot and Mycotoxins
Nigrospora Ear Rot
Penicillium Ear Rot
Trichoderma Ear Rot

CHAPTER 8: Noninfectious Disorders

Nutrient and Fertilizer Disorders
Chemical Injury
Environmental Conditions and Genetic Disorders
Insect Injury

CHAPTER 9: Diseases of Worldwide Importance That Do Not Occur in the United States and Canada

Fijiviruses
Maize Streak
Late Wilt
Asian Downy Mildews

CHAPTER 10: A Closer Look

Using a Hand Lens
Microscopic Images
Creating a Moist Chamber

Glossary

Image Credits

Index

"...an invaluable and core addition to professional and academic library Agricultural Reference collections in general, and Corn instructional supplemental studies reading lists in particular."
—Library Bookwatch