How to prevent crazy top of corn? Practical control measures introduced

Crazy top of corn is a potentially dangerous disorder affecting corn production, and it is also a relatively common disease. It can easily occur throughout the entire corn growing period, has a very large impact on corn yield, and often gives farmers headaches. Below, the editor brings you preventive measures. Let us learn about them together.

1. Symptom performance

The symptoms of crazy top vary depending on the variety and the stage of disease development. In early onset, the plant leaves are lighter in color, the leaves curl or have yellow stripes, the plant becomes shorter and has larger tillering, and some plants are less than 1 m tall yet have as many as 6-10 tillers. After tasseling, the symptoms often appear as follows: the tassel proliferates and becomes deformed, the florets become leafy, and a large number of small leaves cluster together, making the tassel become hedgehog-like. On some diseased plants, the upper part of the tassel is normal while the lower part is deformed, appearing round and hydrangea-like. Because the tassel proliferates and grows wildly, it is called “crazy top”. Sometimes the ear of a diseased plant does not extrude silks, and the leaf tips become abnormal, forming small leaf-like clusters, but sometimes the small leaf-like tips at the front of the ear husk are a varietal characteristic.

2. Transmission routes

Crazy top of corn is a fungal spore system infection virus. The pathogen parasitizes in diseased plants or soil. After sowing, the pathogen begins to divide oospores and sends them to new hosts. Corn is most susceptible to infection when it germinates. In addition, after infection, seeds can also spread over long distances, thereby inducing new infection areas. According to research findings, seeds produced by apparently normal plants have a high carrying rate, and the risk of spreading the disease is also high.

3. Preventive measures

Varieties with strong disease resistance should be selected for breeding and planting to prevent early spread of the disease. Newly sown corn should be kept as far away from epidemic areas as possible. Do not use diseased plots for planting, and do not introduce seeds from epidemic areas. Strengthen cultivation management. After harvesting in diseased fields, promptly remove diseased residual plants and field weeds, destroy them in time, and deep plow the soil to promote the rotting and decomposition of diseased residues, or implement rotation of corn with non-host crops. During the seedling stage, strictly control the amount of irrigation water to avoid flood irrigation, promptly drain field water, and reduce soil moisture. When disease occurs, promptly pull out diseased plants and carry them out of the field for destruction to prevent disease spread. Regularly disinfect and sterilize. For control, 59% metalaxyl-mancozeb or 260 ml of Sandofan spray can be used.

The above is an introduction to preventive measures for crazy top of corn. We hope it can help you. To learn more related knowledge, please stay tuned to us.