The challenges of managing diseases in corn and soybean production systems are many. Disease identification isn’t always straightforward. Not knowing isn’t an option – no sense in treating a bacterial disease with a fungicide, right? If a fungicide is applied, which product and when? That’s just for foliar diseases. Seedling diseases can be complicated as well.

To assist with navigating the varying disease challenges we see on an annual basis, our annual Meadowlark Extension District – Atchison County crops meeting will this year focus on the topic of disease management for the corn and soybean producer. Wednesday, February 27th is the date. The Knights of Columbus Hall in Nortonville is the place.

We’ll start with a catered breakfast at 7:45 a.m. courtesy of our generous sponsors. At 8:30, we’ll kick off with the first of two presentations by long time K-State Research & Extension Plant Pathologist Dr. Doug Jardine. He’ll talk soybean diseases, with a focus on identification of foliar diseases, share observations on the seed diseases we saw in 2018, and discuss soybean cyst management.

Kansas River Valley Experiment Field manager Eric Adee will be up next. He’ll discuss research done by himself and others at the experiment fields dealing with corn and soybean disease management, including his work on the use of fungicides for the control of southern rust in corn. We’ll wrap up the morning with more on corn diseases from Doug Jardine, discussing some of the new diseases we’re starting to observe in our area. The morning will be wrapped up so you can be on your way around 10:30 a.m.

The breakfast is complementary, but an RSVP is requested so we can make sure we have enough food. Please do so by noon on Monday February 25th to the Oskaloosa Office of the Meadowlark Extension District at (785) 863-2212. You can also register via e-mail to me at dhallaue@ksu.edu .