Upper Midwest Sugarbeet Pathogen Forecast

Rhizoctonia and Cercospora leafspot will both be diseases farmers will have to watch out for in 2017. NDSU / U of MN Extension Sugarbeet Specialist, Mohamed Khan, says you need to control Rhizoctonia early to establish a good stand:

“Even tolerant varieties in early growth stages are susceptible so the recommendation is to make sure, on all of our sugarbeet seeds, to have seed treatments. We have some good, effective seed treatments. Make you use them to give protection from seedling damping off. We also recommend using a post application fungicide somewhere between for the four-to-eight leaf stage.”

Khan says controlling Cercospora will also be a challenge due to very large overwintering populations of resistant spores.

​Source: The Red River Farm Network (rrfn.com)

Related Article:
The 2016 Upper Midwest Cercospora Experience

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