Adell Cooperative Union

Tar Spot

A new pathogen has brought itself to our Wisconsin doorstep. Tar Spot, caused by the fungus
Phyllachora maydis, was first identified in Illinois and Indiana in 2015. Even since, our overall
understanding of the disease is still very limited.

Last year our agronomists found the disease from Fond du lac all the way to the Lake Michigan
lakeshore. Severity reduced drastically as it moved east indicating the later transition into the
growing season.Yield impact was seemingly low in our area, largely in part to the lack
of P. Maydis' sister fungus, M. Maydis.

A large part of what we understand about Tar Spot has come from Central America, where the
disease has been much more problimatic. In large part because they have also identified
M. Maydis, a fungus yet to be identified in the Corn Belt, but when paired with P. Maydis, can
promote drastic yield loss.

Agronomy Manager, John Sudbrink CCA, CPAg, has been in contact with many Reps in our industry
on effective fungicides available to fight Tar Spot. If Tar Spot is a concern this coming growing
season, we highly encourage you to stop into the Coop Agronomy Center and have a discussion
on how to approach this disease going forward.

Industrial Hemp

This year's 2019 Agronomy Kick-Off Meeting at Chissy's highlighted the hot topic that is
industrial hemp. Sales Agronomist, Justin Slowey, highlighted what hemp was, what it is, and what it
could be in our state going forward.

There is still much to be done regarding the establishment of the market place. As a
grower, you should be aware and understand the current market climate, and be cautious on
who to trust as it becomes established in Wisconsin. Specifically on getting trusted quality seed
and building an understanding of the overall agronomics of industrial hemp.

Our conversations with past growers, would-be processors, said seed providers,
and even the DATCP, highlight what is currently going on in the Wisconsin industrial hemp market. Stop in today
to talk to us about what industrial hemp is and what it could do for your farm's crop portfolio in the future.

Waterhemp

A soybean field sprayed too late to for sufficient weed control. The giant ragweed took a hit, but not the waterhemp (photo: Justin Slowey, Sales Agronomist)

Not to be confused with industrial hemp, waterhemp is a serious issue in Eastern Wisconsin,
and the State overall. Our biggest challenge specifically is Round Up resistant waterhemp,
which has been identified throughout our area.

Diacous, adaptive, resiliant. Waterhemp is as much fascinating in its abilities as it is problematic, capable
of producing hundreds of thousands of seeds per plant. This weed also makes multiple flushes
throughout the year (dependant on seed depth), and has many documented sub species with slight altercations in appearance.

Highly concerning, it has also shown resistance to several other herbicides on the market. Dicamba, Liberty Link, Cobra, and
even 2,4-d have become ineffective in specific parts of the corn belt, providing serious concerns going forward.

Dr. Kevin Bradley, Plant Scientist, University of Missouri, has been focused on pigweed resistance
since the early 2000's. “Overlapping” or “layered residual programs” worked best to kill waterhemp in
research conducted at the University of Missouri Bradford Research Farm, Bradley says. Other
research, like that done by Dr. Rodrigo Werle, UW-Madison Extension Weed Scientist, showed similar results in
Lancaster, WI, last year.

If you havn't talked to us yet about options to control waterhemp we highly encourage you to do so.
It is too important to not have a plan in place for this weed. Don't wait until the last minute when
it is too late for control!


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