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Disease Control and Pest Management

Effect of Nitrogen and Nitrapyrin on Stalk Rot, Stalk Diameter, and Yield of Corn. D. G. White, Assistant Professor, Department of Plant Pathology, University of Illinois, Urbana, IL 61801; R. G. Hoeft(2), and J. T. Touchton(3). (2)(3)Associate Professor and Research Associate, Department of Agronomy, respectively, University of Illinois, Urbana IL 61801, (3)Current address: Department of Agronomy, University of Georgia, Georgia Experiment Station, Experiment, GA 30212. Phytopathology 68:811-814. Accepted for publication 24 October 1977. Copyright © 1978 The American Phytopathological Society, 3340 Pilot Knob Road, St. Paul, MN 55121. All rights reserved.. DOI: 10.1094/Phyto-68-811.

The effects of various rates of spring- and fall-applied anhydrous ammonia, with and without 2-chloro-6-(trichloromethyl) pyridine (nitrapyrin) on stalk rot, stalk diameter, and yield were determined. Stalk rot from natural infection and stalk rot following inoculation with Diplodia maydis or Colletotrichum graminicola decreased with increasing nitrogen rates. Nitrapyrin reduced stalk rot in some treatments, however, it did not increase yield or stalk diameter. The reduced stalk rot with increasing rates of nitrogen and at lower rates of nitrogen with nitrapyrin may be due to a continuous supply of nitrogen throughout the growing season.