Farmers have a new tool available this year that can forecast the risk of disease pressure in both corn and soybeans. The “Crop Risk Tool” from the Crop Protection Network (CPN), which is totally free, currently has forecast models for tar spot and gray leaf spot in corn, as well as white mold and frogeye leaf spot in soybeans.
The Crop Risk Tool is a web-based platform that forecasts the risk of these key foliar diseases by feeding local weather data into the validated models. The risk models for corn were partially developed through the National Predictive Modeling Tool Initiative. Additional models specific for other crops such as dry beans, potatoes, tomatoes, beets, carrots, and onions are also available.
Users can select fields they would like to monitor and dates they are interested in. The tool provides a 7-day forecast to assist in planning ahead of incoming weather events and risk levels are updated daily based on recent weather conditions. Operators can also view disease pressure during the previous year and/or growing season to help gain further insights into annual trends.
It should be noted that the models assume the pathogens are already present within your field. Regular scouting is important for understanding if the pathogens are present or have been present in the past. CPN also urges users to restrict the use of the risk prediction tool to only periods in which the crops are susceptible to the disease.
For example, in corn, it’s recommended that the growth stages be between V10 (10 emerged leaves) and R3 (milk) for any fungicide applications. For soybeans, the growth stages of concern for white mold are between R1 (first flower) and R3 (first pod), and the crop needs to have reached crop canopy closure for the mushroom-like structures of the white mold fungus to form. The white mold models in soybeans also differ between dryland and irrigated environments due to changes in the microenvironments of those systems. The growth stages of concern for frogeye leaf spot would be between R1 (first flower) and R5 (beginning seed set).
The project is powered by the National Predictive Modeling Tool Initiative (NPMTI), which is part of USDA-ARS. The crop disease forecasting tools are developed in collaboration with the University of Wisconsin–Madison Department of Entomology. Each crop disease forecasting tool is sponsored in part by the National Corn Growers Association (NCGA), the North Central Soybean Research Program (NCSRP), and the United Soybean Board (USB).
Producers can find the tool at CPN’s website HERE. There is also a video available that explains how to use the tool HERE.
