The spider mites apparently migrated from a roadside grass strip when the weather was hot and dry. John Yocum and I asked this question as have some farmers. We carefully examined some plants on the research farm and found tan to black lesions on the upper nodes. These were identified by the Plant Diagnostic Clinic as anthracnose. These top-dieback symptoms are due to disintegration of the pith at the nodes of the corn plant.
More severe cases can result in shiny black lesions on stalks and stalk lodging.
Lots of corn stalks get baled with little consideration for the nutrient removal. 2 O 5 and 104 pounds of K 2 0. If the corn stalks are allowed to weather and are harvested during the winter, the nutrient removal for K will be reduced since the K is soluble and leaches from the stalks. Greg Roth Assoc. Some of you have heard about the problems that have occurred recently in Maryland due to Pfiesteria and have been asking questions about it.