University research has shown that while fungicide timings can vary by region and pressure, proactive peanut disease control should begin as soon as a month after planting.
“Diseases are most effectively managed when they are prevented in advance of infections becoming established,” says Dan Anco, Extension peanut specialist and assistant professor at Clemson University.
“The critical leaf spot protection period begins 45 days after planting and continues until harvest. In higher-pressure situations, starting the program earlier, at around 30 days after planting, is beneficial,” Anco says. “The critical period for white mold protection starts about 60 days after planting.”
In high-pressure situations, a fungicide management program should start as early as 30 days after planting, he says.
The most economically destructive diseases for peanut producers are leaf spot, white mold (also known as Southern stem rot), and tomato spotted wilt virus. “These diseases are most effectively managed when they are prevented rather than trying to cure them once infections become established.”
While disease pressure may be a certainty, weather conditions are not. When faced with heavy early season disease pressure, acting fast with an established fungicide management program ensures effective disease control.
Proactively managing resistance
When preparing a season-long disease management program, taking time to consider what products were used previously will ensure modes of action are rotated. “If single-site products are used, rotating modes of action is very important for fungicide resistance management,” Anco says. “Multisite products can be repeated and applied with no development of resistance, but there are situations where other products perform better.”
A season-long fungicide prevention program can provide the strong foundation your peanut crop needs to reach its maximum yield potential. Choosing a product that offers systemic properties allows for improved coverage and helps maintain disease-free fields.
“Products like Fontelis, which contains a single mode of action, can add flexibility in complementing a fungicide program that alternates different modes of action,” Danco says. “Fontelis has generally been an excellent white mold material.”
Multiple treatments of DuPont™ Fontelis® fungicide throughout the growing season, with other fungicides rotated in to improve the long-term efficacy of the program, enable plants to remain healthy through potential weather-induced harvest delays without losing yield potential.
Because disease pressure is inevitable, spraying alternate modes of action is crucial when producing peanuts. Incorporating alternative crop rotations between peanut crops helps your field deteriorate leftover peanut debris, ultimately improving disease pressure the next time peanuts are planted. While every region recommends different crop rotation lengths, the reason is synonymous. The longer the rotation, the less disease pressure, which means higher yield.1
Having a proactive season-long fungicide management plan and an extended crop rotation will help your peanut crop reach its maximum yield potential.
For more information, visit Corteva Agriscience.
1 Rotations Maximize peanut yield by making proactive fungicide decisions.
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