By Kat Yares, Garden Guides Contributor

About Corn Leaf Blights

Corn leaf blights are common in the Corn Belt of the United States. The intensity of their damage can be determined by factors such as weather, the tillage system used and what type of corn in planted. Common corn blights include Southern, Northern, Gray, Yellow and Anthracnose leaf blights. Eyespot and Northern Corn Leaf Spot are also considered corn leaf blights.

Prevention and Control

The best way to control corn leaf blights is to plant seed that has been hybridized to resist the disease. To determine which blights are common to an area, a discussion can be had with a local county extension agent. Keeping fields clean after harvest will also cut down on corn leaf blights the following season. In the case of a severe infection, a fungicide developed specifically for corn leaf blight can be used.

Affected Plants

Corn

Damage

Severe corn leaf blights can weaken the corn plants and cause as much as a 50-percent reduction in yield per acre.

Other Methods of Control

Remove any infected plants from the field upon discovery to control the spores from spreading to the plants around it. The practice of crop rotation is one of the best ways to avoid an infection of corn leaf blights. Tilling under stalks and other field debris will destroy the blight spores, as they cannot survive underground.