Corn farmers who welcomed recent rain might discover an unwelcome guest.
Kim Tutor with BASF says the moisture creates an environment for tar spot to thrive.
“We have the host, corn. We’ve got the pathogen, so it’s overwintering in any of that corn residue that hasn’t full decomposed. And really the third factor that’s going to trigger whether or not that disease is present is really the environmental conditions.”
She says six Iowa counties have confirmed the presence of tar spot and reports of the disease are coming in from Missouri, Kansas, and Nebraska as well.
