Yield losses in off-season corn crop due to stalk rot disease

Abstract: The objective of this work was to assess yield losses due to stalk rot in corn (Zea mays) hybrids, as well as to identify the main pathogenic fungi responsible for the disease during the off-season, in the state of Tocantins, Brazil. Two field experiments were carried out, one with five hybrids, in 2015, and another with four, in 2016. Ears of healthy and stalk rot-infected plants were collected from each plot, at harvest. Ear size, grain and ear weights, and grain moisture content were measured. From each diseased plant, a stalk piece with two to three nodes was removed for pathogen identification and quantification. The most common pathogens were: Fusarium graminearum, Stenocarpella maydis, and Macrophomina phaseolina. All yield parameters were significantly lower in stalk rot-infected plants, with average losses of 30.6%, in 2015, and of 34.3% in 2016. The highest yield losses are observed in hybrids with the highest grain/ear weight ratio.