Farmers and other agribusiness professionals have another tool to access university research-based information that helps identify and manage field crop diseases. The Crop Protection Network (CPN), composed of state university and provincial Extension specialists, and public/private professionals, produces collaborative Extension outputs on diseases affecting field crops in the United States and Canada.

“Currently there are 24 publications on corn and soybean diseases available on the CPN website – www.CropProtectionNetwork.org – including a series on how to manage corn ear rots that was released in 2016,” said Damon Smith, University of Wisconsin-Extension field crops pathologist at UW-Madison.

The website includes full length publications on important diseases, scouting cards to aid in field-based disease diagnosis, one-page factsheets that address hot topics in field crop diseases, and annual corn disease loss estimates for the United States and Canada.

Publications focus on how to identify and manage diseases, as well as including information on other diseases that can confuse diagnosis. These resources are updated frequently to incorporate the latest research-based information on disease management.

“The website is also mobile friendly to allow publications to be viewed on the go and in the field,” Smith said. “More publications are coming soon, so please check back regularly to see what’s new.”

The CPN is supported by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), the North Central Soybean Research Program (NCSRP), the United Soybean Board (USB), and the Grain Farmers of Ontario (GFO).

For more information, contact Damon Smith at 608-262-5716 or damon.smith@wisc.edu.