Goss’ wilt was found this week in corn damaged from Memorial Day storms in Clay County.  I’ve also received pictures that appeared to be Goss’ from crop consultants in other areas of the State.  Goss’ wilt lesions have a wavy edge, have a varnished look to them when wet, and have characteristic black “freckles” within and particularly along the lesion edges.  We are seeing some plant death due to the systemic version of Goss’ wilt.  This can be seen by taking a cross-section of the stem and looking for orange discoloration in the vascular bundles.  Because this is a bacterial disease, fungicides are not effective in controlling Goss’ wilt.  If you are interested in trying a product that is labeled for treating bacterial diseases in corn, we would recommend you test its effectiveness via on-farm research.  Spraying in a paired comparison treatment design will give you a true answer if the product made a difference for you or not.

To do this simply:

1-Spray a pass or round with the product (depending on sprayer size) to ensure you can harvest two passes from the center of the treated area.
2-Skip the same amount of distance as you previously sprayed.
Repeat steps 1-2 at least three more times

Mark a few plants in each plot and take photos throughout the growing season to determine if disease progresses or not.  You may also wish to keep track of percent of plants affected in each untreated and treated area throughout the season, and check for percent stalk rot and harvest population in each area before harvest as well.

Make sure to harvest two passes from the center of each treated and untreated area.  Then compare the weights as shown in the harvest figure.  Please let Jenny Rees jrees2@unl.edu (402) 762-3644 know if you decide to conduct this study and if you have any questions!  

More information:

Goss’s Wilt from UNL
Sample Submission to UNL Plant and Pest Diagnostic Clinic
Nebraska On-Farm Research Network