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IMAGE: As hemp begins to reemerge as an important crop in the United States, scientists are beginning research into the diseases that might prevent the crop from flourishing. A study published. view more
Credit: Lindsey D. Thiessen
As hemp begins to reemerge as an important crop in the United States, scientists are beginning research into the diseases that might prevent the crop from flourishing. A study published in the December issue of
Plant Health Progress is one of the first to study the potential disease and disorder limitations for hemp production in the southeastern United States.
Lindsey Thiessen, a plant pathologist at North Carolina State University, worked with colleagues to evaluate hemp samples from North Carolina and observed 16 different diseases. They found Fusarium flower blight most consistently followed by Helminthosporium leaf spot. They also surveyed hemp producers who self-identified Fusarium species as the most common issue in their
John Hart
Lindsey Thiessen speaks at a soybean field day at the Piedmont Research Station in Salisbury, N.C. in 2018. NC soybean farmers need to turn to alternative options for diseases and use other fungicides beyond group 11.
An integrated pest management approach is key for managing field crop diseases, which requires scouting, host resistance, crop rotation and using the right fungicides in a timely manner to succeed.
Speaking at the virtual North Carolina Crop Protection School, Lindsey Thiessen, North Carolina State University Extension plant pathologist, said both a whole-farm perspective and long-term management is critical.
Job one in disease management is scouting. Thiessen said successful scouting requires you to get out of the truck and “getting up close and personal” in looking for pathogens. She emphasized that diseases are not evenly distributed or simply found on the edge of the field.