Making Headline Work for You
July 21, 2010
Now is the time to be looking at foliar fungicide applications for your corn and soybeans. A major factor is the weather and this season has had above normal rainfall and humidity, which can be an ideal environment for disease to thrive. Headline's major function is to control diseases like Eyespot, Anthracnose, Common and Southern Rust. These diseases need a susceptible host (corn or soybeans), and the proper environmental conditions to create a disease outbreak. 
Agronomic situations like corn on corn have higher disease potential and need to be strongly considered for a Headline application. Along with crop rotation, it is imperative to know hybrid genetic type and its susceptibility to disease regardless of rotation. Many of the hybrids we plant are considered "offensive" style and have excellent yield potential, but may not have great native tolerance to certain disease that we may encounter in 2010. Other interacting factors that can play a role is soil Potassium (K) levels. Lower than ideal Potassium levels can lead to increased incidence of disease since it plays an important role in disease tolerance, stalk integrity, water movement in the plant and overall health of the plant.
The benefits of Headline on corn include:
Increased Yield: University studies have given an average yield response of 7.4 bushels an acre on yield trials conducted since 1999. However, there have been reports of well over 50 bushels an acre advantage in certain circumstances and getting an economic response depends on the factors mentioned above. Weather and knowing the agronomics will get excellent return on investment for Headline.
Decreased Risk: Agriculture inherently has certain risks. The risk of weather along with economic risks created by large investments in land, machinery, inputs such as fertilizer and seed means that a scenario of disease robbing yield or causing issues harvesting can be avoided with an application of Headline.
Plant Health: Reducing or eliminating disease itself will lead to a healthier plant, but Headline can also reduce ethylene production in the plant and maintain overall plant health compared to untreated.
Improved Stalk Integrity: Stalk issues caused by disease or premature death of the plant from the disease can lead to stalks that cannot maintain rigidity into the fall. This of course can lead to harvest inefficiency and yield loss. Headline will keep the stalks alive and healthier longer.
Improved Nutrient Uptake: Headline has shown the ability to help the corn plant utilize nitrogen more efficiently due to helping with the nitrogen reductase process. Also, a healthier plant can more effectively transport nutrients in the plant.
To make Headline on corn effective the ideal timing will be the VT (full tassel) throught the R2 stage of corn development. The best bet for proper timing is to talk to your local FCS agronomist soon so we can help you line up the orders ahead of time and discuss the agronomics of how to make Headline work for you.
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