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Green Business | Wed Sep 23, 2015 6:02pm EDT
Exclusive: Storm suspected of carrying new corn disease into U.S.
CHICAGO | BY TOM POLANSEK
A tropical storm could have carried the corn disease tar spot into the heart of the U.S. farm belt for the first time, as winds and rain blew in from Latin America, researchers told Reuters.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture has confirmed cases of tar spot in four locations in Indiana and three in Illinois. The fungal disease has been a problem for years in Mexico and in Central and South America, with farmers fighting infections that can lower yields.
Tropical Storm Bill, which brought rain to the central United States in June after spinning through the Gulf of Mexico, may have transported the disease, said Bill Dolezal, a research fellow for seed company DuPont Pioneer.
...
Exclusive: Storm suspected of carrying new corn disease into U.S.
CHICAGO | BY TOM POLANSEK
A tropical storm could have carried the corn disease tar spot into the heart of the U.S. farm belt for the first time, as winds and rain blew in from Latin America, researchers told Reuters.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture has confirmed cases of tar spot in four locations in Indiana and three in Illinois. The fungal disease has been a problem for years in Mexico and in Central and South America, with farmers fighting infections that can lower yields.
Tropical Storm Bill, which brought rain to the central United States in June after spinning through the Gulf of Mexico, may have transported the disease, said Bill Dolezal, a research fellow for seed company DuPont Pioneer.
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