As farmers are wrapping up planting, they are looking ahead to what the growing season may bring. For local farmer Craig Long, this can be from current events, such as the war in Ukraine and corn prices, to looking within the fields for insects and disease.
Long said that two years ago, he was impacted by a devastating case of tar spot.
“It kind of two years ago it just exploded. There was like hardly any of it and then all of a sudden it really exploded on the leaves and it took a pretty good yield away from us on that crop,” said Long. “Last year there was a little tar spot around, but it didn’t ever develop into anything. Almost no impact on the yield.
According to Purdue University, farmers can manage tar spots with crop scouting, fungicides, hybrid selection, and through cultural practices.
Written by Kailey Foster
