Seven field experiments were conducted in Ohio and Illinois between 2011 and 2013 to evaluate postanthesis applications of prothioconazole + tebuconazole and metconazole for Fusarium head blight and deoxynivalenol (DON) control in soft red winter wheat. Treatments consisted of an untreated check and fungicide applications made at early anthesis (A), 2 (A+2), 4 (A+4), 5 (A+5), or 6 (A+6) days after anthesis. Six of the seven experiments were augmented with artificial Fusarium graminearum inoculum, and the other was naturally infected. FHB index (IND), Fusarium damaged kernels (FDK), and DON concentration of grain were quantified. All application timings led to significantly lower mean arcsine-square-root-transformed IND and FDK (arcIND and arcFDK) and log-transformed (logDON) than in the untreated check; however, arcIND, arcFDK, and logDON for the postanthesis applications were generally not significantly different from those for the anthesis applications. Relative to the check, A+2 resulted in the highest percent control for both IND and DON, 69 and 54%, respectively, followed by A+4 (62 and 52%), A+6 (62 and 48%), and A (56 and 50%). A+2 and A+6 significantly reduced IND by 30 and 14%, respectively, relative to the anthesis application. Postanthesis applications did not, however, reduce DON relative to the anthesis application. These results suggest that applications made up to 6 days following anthesis may be just as effective as, and sometimes more effective than, anthesis applications at reducing FHB and DON.

Quinone outside inhibitor (QoI) foliar fungicides can be effective at reducing foliar diseases in corn (Zea mays), and they have been shown to provide physiological benefits experimentally in other crops in the absence of disease. A new supplemental label for pyraclostrobin that was approved in January 2009 by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) states that corn plants applied with pyraclostrobin may have better tolerance to damage caused by hail. To determine the effects of QoI foliar fungicides on hail-damaged corn, field research trials were conducted near Champaign, IL in 2007 and 2008. Hail damage was simulated with a gasoline-powered string-mower at the V12 growth stage, which caused injury to leaves and defoliation. At VT, the foliar fungicides azoxystrobin and pyraclostrobin were applied to corn. Control treatments included a nontreated control and a nondamaged control. The simulated hail damage significantly (P ≤ 0.05) increased gray leaf spot severity (caused by Cercospora zeae-maydis) in 2007 but not in 2008. Simulated hail damage also significantly reduced yield compared with the nondamaged control in both 2007 and 2008. Foliar fungicides significantly reduced disease severity compared with the nontreated control in 2007 but not in 2008; however, foliar fungicides did not significantly improve yield in either the damaged or nondamaged plots compared with the nontreated controls. Results from our research trials indicated that foliar fungicides provided very little benefit to corn injured by simulated hail; thus, growers should consider factors other than hail damage when making fungicide application decisions for corn.

Foliar disease and insect management on soybean (Glycine max L. Merrill) in the North Central region of the United States has been increasingly accomplished through foliar fungicide and insecticide application. Data from research trials conducted in Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, and Nebraska were compiled from 2008 to 2014 to determine the impact of fungicide, insecticide, and fungicide + insecticide applications on soybean yield and profitability. In each state, field experiments occurred each year in two to seven locations. All treatments were applied at the R3 growth stage. Disease and insect pressure were very low in all states and years. A foliar application of fungicide, insecticide, or the combination, increased yield in seven out of 14 total site-years (P < 0.10). Economic analysis using an average soybean price of $0.42 per kilogram and average application cost of $62 per hectare indicated that fungicide applications were only profitable in 14% of the trial site-years. Insecticide alone and fungicide + insecticide was profitable in 39% and 45% of site-years, respectively. Effect of fungicide class on yield was inconsistent. Our results indicate that although yield increases can occur with foliar fungicide and/or insecticide treatments, current market prices and application costs may limit profitability when disease and/or insect pressure is low. Accepted for publication 22 September 2016.

Sudden death syndrome (SDS), caused by Fusarium virguliforme (Fv), is a major yield-limiting disease of soybean in North America. Infection of soybean seedling roots by Fv results in severe root damage; therefore, fungicide seed treatments could potentially reduce these early-season infections and reduce severity of foliar symptoms that typically occur later in the season. Multiple fungicide seed treatment combinations were evaluated for their effects on Fv infection, DNA concentrations in roots, soybean root development, and SDS development in the field, greenhouse and laboratory trials. Several seed treatments decreased root disease symptoms compared with the non-treated inoculated control in the laboratory assay, and the biological seed treatment, Bacillus pumilus, significantly decreased seedling development and increased SDS root disease compared with the non-treated inoculated control. In the greenhouse, Fv DNA concentrations in roots were reduced by a treatment combining mefenoxam + thiophanate-methyl + azoxystrobin + Bacillus pumilus + prothioconazole + fludioxonil compared with the non-treated control; however, the reduction in Fv DNA did not improve root growth or decrease SDS symptoms compared with the non-treated control. Field trials were conducted in Valmeyer, IL in 2008 and in Urbana, IL in 2008 and 2009. Seed treatments had no effect on the concentration of Fv DNA in soybean roots and had very little effect on root morphology. At the Valmeyer location, most seed treatments significantly decreased SDS symptoms compared with the control. In summary, no consistent, significant effects of the seed treatments evaluated in this study on SDS or Fv root infection were observed. Therefore, soybean growers should continue to utilize other practices for SDS management until new seed treatments with consistent efficacy in controlling SDS are available.Résumé: Le syndrome de la mort subite (SMS), causé par Fusarium virguliforme, est une importante maladie du soya qui en réduit les rendements en Amérique du Nord. L'infection causée par F. virguliforme et qui touche les racines des semis de soya entraîne de graves dommages; en conséquence, le traitement des semences avec un fongicide pourrait réduire ces infections de début de saison et atténuer la gravité des symptômes foliaires qui apparaissent généralement plus tard dans la saison. Des traitements faisant appel à des combinaisons de plusieurs fongicides ont été évalués pour en vérifier les effets sur l'infection causée par F. virguliforme, les concentrations d'ADN de F. virguliforme dans les racines, le développement des racines de soya ainsi que sur l'apparition du SMS au cours d'essais menés en champ, en serre et en laboratoire. Lors d'essais menés en laboratoire, plusieurs traitements ont atténué les symptômes relatifs à la maladie des racines, comparativement aux témoins inoculés et non traités. Par contre, le traitement biologique Bacillus pumilus a significativement réduit le développement des semis et accru le SMS, comparativement aux témoins inoculés ...

Random-effect meta-analyses were performed on data from 240 field trials conducted between 2005 and 2018 across nine U.S. states and Ontario, Canada, to quantify the yield response of soybean after application of foliar fungicides at beginning pod (R3). Meta-analysis showed that the overall mean yield response when fungicide was used compared to not applying a fungicide was 2.7% (110 kg/ha). Moderator variables were also investigated and included fungicide group, growing season, planting date, and base yield, which all significantly influenced the yield response. There was also evidence that precipitation from the time of planting to the R3 growth stage influenced yield when fungicide was used (P = 0.059). Fungicides containing a premix of active ingredients from multiple groups (either two or three ingredients) increased the yield by 3.0% over not applying a fungicide. The highest and lowest yield responses were observed in 2005 and 2007, respectively. Better yield response to fungicides (a 3.0% increase) occurred when soybeans were planted not later than 21 May and when total precipitation between planting and the R3 application date was above historic averages. Temperatures during the season did not influence the yield response . Yield response to fungicide was higher (a 4.7% increase) in average yield category (no spray control yield 2878 to 3758 kg/ha) and then gradually decreased with increasing base yield. Partial economic analyses indicated that use of foliar fungicides is less likely to be profitable when foliar diseases are absent or at low levels.