Watch for Gibberella Ear Rot in Corn

Paul Vincelli, Plant Pathology, University of Kentucky

Last month, I wrote an article about Diplodia ear rot, our most common corn ear rot in Kentucky. Diplodia has no known associations with mycotoxins in corn. Gibberella ear rot is associated with mycotoxins and in some cases may look very similar to Diplodia. Normally, Gibberella ear rot is not a widespread problem in Kentucky, but this is not a normal year.

Gibberella ear rot is caused by Fusarium graminearum, the very same fungus that causes head scab of wheat. Normally Gibberella ear rot can be a problem in northern state, but in Kentucky, we generally see very little of this disease. I am hearing of reports of epidemics of Gibberella ear rot in central and even southern areas of neighboring states to our north. Again, that doesn’t seem surprising, given the cool, wet weather generally experienced post-silking in many fields.