Did you know that some diseases can compromise up to 100% of the productivity of corn crops? Find out what the 5 main diseases of corn are and how to control and manage them!
White stain
Caused by the action of the bacteria Pantoea ananafis in plant tissues, often in association with other fungal species, such as Phaeosphaeria maydis. When present in the plant, these causal agents are responsible for generating a series of straw-yellow lesions on the leaves and outer straw of corn cobs.
Cercosporiose
A disease caused by the necrotrophic fungus Cercospora zeae-maydis. Symptoms of brown eye spot can usually be observed on lower leaves during the flowering phase of maize , which causes changes in the color of the lesions.
A helmintosporiose
It is also another disease of the corn crop that initially occurs in the leaves of the lower region of the plants.
But, unlike brown eye spot, helminthosporiosis is a disease that can affect only the leaves and can be easily differentiated from other foliar diseases of maize by observing the size, shape and color of the lesions.
The polishing rust
This happens because the causal agent of this maize disease, the fungus Puccinia polysora , is easily spread by the action of the wind, as well as by splashing rain.
When maize plants are infected by this pathogen, they show the formation of small orange pustules throughout their shoots, including on the leaf sheaths and on the tassel in the case of susceptible hybrids.
The stunts
This disease is known to reduce the size of plants and lead to excessive proliferation of small spikes, and it can present two variations depending on its causal agent.
Despite the variations in symptoms, both stunts can cause severe and irreversible damage to crops that can result in production losses of up to 100%, if conditions are favorable for the spread of pathogens and the progression of plant diseases.
