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LARS Technical Reports Laboratory for Applications of Remote Sensing

1-1-1972

The Corn Blight Problem--1970 and 1971

Marvin E. Bauer

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Bauer, Marvin E., "The Corn Blight Problem--1970 and 1971" (1972). LARS Technical Reports. Paper 4.
http://docs.lib.purdue.edu/larstech/4

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Information Note 012172

The CORN BLIGHT PROBLEM -- 1970 and 1971

by

Marvin E. Bauer

Laboratory ,for Applications of Remote Sensing (LARS)

Purdue University

West Lafayette, Indiana

Presented at the Fourth AnnuaJ. Ea.rth Resources Program Review t Manned Spaceoraft
Center (NASA) t Houston, Texas, January 17 t 1972.
 by

tiar.fiD, E. hauer
Labvrt~y for Applications of Remote Sensing (tARS)
Purdue Univeraity
West L&fayette, Indiana

INTR\)i)lJCIION

Sou.::heru cora leaf blight 11)1 CIlWltW 'by the tWlSUili Htlmi~hos!0ru1.
malc!~. Th~! disease llLU been known for -ny yurs and is widespread in
tro?ic!i1. I1b·e.fi~ of th;;>, \t<'!n:ld whl'!reJ~ corn j.9 growTh Until 1969. aouth-
I!t'n corn lea£ bl1&,'lt (SeLlS) ':la8 co"s~.de .. m:t'r.m: cUseue in the United
StatICs. &ince it G,eldom cau89d lievele luf d&mage or loss in yield. At
about this t~w a uew race ~f H.~tydi8 (race T) adapted itself to
Tams male-sterile (TMS) cytoplaat.. com. Th& origin of the lWf lace T
is not known. The unusual eUilt~Eb1y of TMS cytopla.a corn • •
first recognized in scattered fields in Illinois, Indiana, and Iova in
1969.

Since the early 1960's, U41e-~t.il been widely usedcy~pla h~5

by Sleed eom compan1es tOo lowe~ th'l coat of produeinl aced by the .U.ad.-
nation of hand-detasselillfJ. An e~8timacl 8S to 90 pere",nt of the corn
grllwu in 1970 contained Texas male.... terile cytopl&.m~ When Tuaa 1IIl1e-
sterile cytoplasm uas incorporated into hybrids it was not known that
susceptibility t(.l I:lOnthel'll c::trtl last blight was bared ift this type of
e.ytoplan.

mE 1970 COill l",LIGBT Er!PrfiTOl'IC

Three VQ~y imyortant factors ware responsible for th~ oft.et aDd de-
v~lop_nt of en:;) eorn blight eplphytoti.: h. 1970. rhe~ thrEi;1il factors,
neeeBaary for the davelop~nt of any pl~nt disease, are: (1) a 8uaeep-
tible hoat (f.'J. t ...18 case Te~s ule-sterile cytoplal:Jt!A corra), (2) • vit'1l-
lent pathogen (in this C,i.a. a new pathogenic race of the fungu He1aill-
tho8porium maydis). and (3) a favorable enviroamant for the patho.en (in
many di8.aa•• caused by f"m,gi, of which SCJ!.B 1a one, wara. darp weather
is ideal). The abeenee of anyone of these three factors ..,auld have
prevented the w1del!;prea.d dq.vGlopmant of SC1..B in 197C.

bee T of H. ~ycil!.utd apread vary r~p1dy during 1970,

fro. late lebru!l!'1 to June, in lloricia, Georlta p Alab4lU t :!Us8i88ippi,
aDd otber.southeastern atates. Tremendous numbers of spore't carried by
.aisture-laden northerly winds, infected corn in Kentucky, TeDDe•••••
&Iicl eastern Kissouri; later, Illinoi., ...tern Iowa, Inciana. Ohio. and
other part. of the Corn Belt were infected. By .late blU.t. the cU......
was fourt.d a. far north aa Kimae.ota, Michigan. ancl Ontario, C8nac:la. The
rapid aDd wideepread dev.lopment of SCLB in 1970 i. ahown in Pigur. 1.
Wide.pread drought in the weltern lorn Belt restricted blight develop·
..nt there.
Reduction in 1970 corn yielda nationally from SCLI i8 difficult to
est11late. However, corn lMf blight, combined with aevere droulbtt con-
ditions in 80118 areas, im estimatecl to have rlilduced 1970 corn pl'oc1uctiora.
about 700 million bushels from the original forecast total of 4.8 bill10a
bushel.. The forecaat average yield per acre on July 1, 1970 was 83.1
buahels; in December it was estimated the harvested yield waa ODly 71.7
bushela per acre -- a reduction of 15 percent (Figure 2). In some stat.s
the average yield loss was .reeter and in many individual farm fields
the crop was nearly a total lo.s.

SYMPTOMS or SOtJTllRRN CORN LEAP' BLIGHT

Symptoms of SCLI are characterized by tan or lilht-brown spote or

lesions that usually appear first on the lower leaves. Under auitable
cOllClitiona wind or .pluhin, rain carries spore. to upper leaves product••
secouclary infectiona. Lesions are oblong to ••indle-shaped, rauging up
to about 1/2 to 1 1Dch in lenath and 1/4 to 1/2 inch in width. On very
susceptible plant a the lesions increase rapidly in number. The leetoaa
ay _rge, severely blighting and kUling the leaves. A acale ahoWin,
the .1x atalle of blight severity which can be identified on the ground
is shown in Figure 3.
. The l.sions on the stalk, leaf sheath. anel ear hU8~ MY elLlar,.
rapidly, to aa much aa 6 inche. in length. The penetration of the silk
end of the ear or the shucks takes 7 to 14 days in damp _at bel' t ani ay
lead to a mldy or Charcoal-like rot of the urnela aad cob. The graiD
is ct.stroyed. With severe leaf-killing, stalk. rot by!. _telis anel
other fwagi i. increased. As a result there is auch lodaiua vbere bli.ht
is ....re.

DilBLOPMENT
. or BLIGHT IN 1971

The pattern of blisht development in the Corn Belt ta.t area duriDa
1971 ia .hown in Figurea 4 to 9. Th. map. are bas.d on biweekly field
observations made in Corn Blight Watch IxporimeDt segment. and fllsht
linea. Th••• observations vere the moat coaprehenaive and quantitative
of any of the several operational efforts carriecl out to follow blisht
development. The data shown are average blight severity levels with ap-
propriate weig~tu for the number of acres of each blight class present
in each flisht line.
Considering all cytoplasm types the average blight severity was
less than 1.5 through July 30 (Figure 4). Although prior to this.
blight had been reported present in several hundred counties in the
Corn Belt. In T-cytoplasm fields mild levels of infection were develop-
ing in Miesouri, southern Illinois, and southern and west-central Indi-
ana (Figure 5).
TWo weeks later there had been a further increase in the prevalence
and severity of blight infection with some areas of severe infection
present in Illinois and Indiana (ligures 6 and 7). By the last week of
August blight infection had become more widespread with at least mild
~evls present in much of the eastern Corn Belt area (Figure 8). Fig-
ure 9 shows the areas in Illinois and Indiana where blight was most se-
vere in T-cytoplasm fields. Although there was some increase in the
severity of leaf infection in September, most of the crop was nearly ma-
ture and further infectton would have little or no effect on yields.

DISCUSSION
The prevalence and severity of only a few crop diseases can be ac-
curately forecast months in advance of their onset. At the present timet
SCLB is not one of these. No one could predict with certainty what the
extent and severity of SCLB would be in 1971. The 1971 season with its
threat of serious damage from SCLB is past and the factors which account-
ed for blight development can be"examined.
First, except in the deep South, growers planted 5 to 20 percent
more resistant, normal cytoplasm seed than had originally been expected
(Figure 10).
The distribution of the resistant seed played a significant part in
the pattern of blight development in 1971. A relatively larger portion
of the resistant seed was planted in areas hard hit by blight in 1970.
i.e. Illinois, Indiana, eastern Iowa, and Missouri. Those areas which
escaped serious blight damage in 1970 planted a larger portion of suscep-
tible, Texas male-sterile cytoplasm seed (Figure 11). As shown in Fig-
ures 4 to 9 the most severely-infected areas of the Corn Belt in 1971
were those where there was very little T-cytop1asm seed planted. In ad-
dition, the greatest acreages of corn occurred in those areas which had
relatively little blight (Figure 12).
Weather. however, was the single moat important factor in determin-
ing the aeverity of SetB in 1971. A warm, dry spring enabled farmers to
 plant early (Figure 13). This, combined with favorable growing condi-
tions in May and June, got the crop off to a fast start. In many areas
the crop was nearly mature before blight infection reached significant
levels.

Cool, dry weather from mid-July to mid-August significantly re-

duced the build-up of blight which might have otherwise been expected
(Figure 14). In many areas across a large portion of the Corn Belt re-
gion, blight lesions were present on the lower leaves throughout July
and August, but the cool temperatures held development of the disease in
cheek. Below normal temperatures during this period were at the same
time very favorable for ear development and high yields.

The number of acres in each blight severity class in the Corn Belt
test area from August 23-27 is shown in ,Figure 15. Less than 20 percent
of the acreage had moderate or severe infection levels and only about 5
percent of the acreage was severely infected. . .

Although the 1971 growing season produced the highest yields on

record (Figure 16), it should be noted that about 55 percent of the
acreage in the Corn Belt had slight or mild levels of infection. Had
the season's weather been warmer and more hUJDid, blight development
would have been greater.

CONCLUDING REMARKS

~n 1970 an epiphytotic of Southern Corn Leaf Blight caused an ap-

proximate 15 percent loss to the nation's corn crop. The disease is
. characterized by small brown lesions appearing on the leaves of corn
plants. With favorable weather conditions the lesions increase in size
and number and may completely kill susceptible plants iIl 10 to 14 days.
Plants with Texas male-sterile cytoplasm are most susceptible to the new
race of SCLB which was present in 1970 and again in 1971.

The extent and severity of infection of SeLB in 1971 was determined

by three factors. First, susceptibility of the crop -- a slighty~ .
larger portion of the crop was planted to resistant hybrids than had
originally been expected. Second, the presence of the pathogen -- the
disease fungus overwintered in the Corn Belt and was present earlier
than in 1970. Third, the favorability of the environment for the growth
and reproduction of spores -- the cooler and less humid than normal wea-
ther in the Corn Belt was relatively lmfavorable for blight development.
This last factor is the major reason that the disease ,although wide-
spread, was not nearly as severe as in 1970.
 -
Date
P2J Sept. I
f::!l AUQ.15
~ July 15
c:::I June 18
. . . 'May 20

Figure 1. In 1970 southern corn leaf blight rapidly spread from the southern states to.~he Corn Belt.
 . . August I Forecast • December I Actual

- Q)
~
o
<t
........

-
~
m
"'C
Q)

>=
Q)
Ct
C
~
Q)

Figure 2. Yields were reduced an average of 15 percent by southern corn leaf blight
in 1970. Total losses from blight were estimated to be one billion dollars.
 o 1 2 3 4 5
NONE O.A SLIG .... T ,,,,,FlECTION LIGHT INFECTION MODERATE INFECTION HEAVY INFECTION VERY HEAVY INFECTION
VIERY SLIGHT ~NFECTIO A FEW MODERATE NUMBER AIuNDANT LESIONS LESIONS ABUNDANT ON LESIONS ABUNDANT
ONE OR TWO SCATTERED LESIONS OR LESIONS • ON LowE PI LEAVES LOWER AND MIDDLE LEAVES ON ALL LEAVES
RESTRICTED LESIONS ON LOWER LEAVES ON LOWER LEAVES FEW ON MIDDLE LEAVES EXTENDING TO UPPER LEAVES PLANTS MAY IE
ON LOWER LEA"fS
PREMATURELY KILLED

Figure 3. Scale showing the six stages of blight severity which can be identified on the ground.
 ~x"- I

)(
)( ~
x
~ / --
A

)<
~ ')(

:)(
')(
)<
><X><
)(
')c
~X><
~
~
~ y

9J
~
Blight Severity Level .(
:)(

~
~ 0.0-1.49
G 1.50-2.49

-
1971 Com BliQht Watch Experiment
r.:.!J 2.50 -- 3.49
t;~1J 3.50- 5.00
029

Figure 4. Average blight severity of all cytoplasm types, .July 26 - 30, 1971.
 ~
1 I
xx.)
~ I

\
)<

...,.
~

)
.~

Blight Severity Level

~ 0.0-1.49
E:::r:l \. 50- 2. 49 1971 Corn BtiQht Watch Experiment
r2l 2.50- 3.49
Il!5J 3.50-5.00
9
Figure 6. Average blight severity of all cytoplasm types, August 9 - 13, 1971.
 Blight Sewrity Level
Baa 0.0-1.49
~ 1.50-2.49 1971 Com BliQht Watch Experiment
lZ!J 2.50 - 3.49
eE 3.50-5.00

Figure 7. Blight severity of Texas male sterile cytoplasm corn, August 9 - l3~ 1971.
 ~.,(':><tz;cJ-v ..; : '.• : : ..; : : : : : ..: : :
"
;.Q:~< " "'. ": : :.: ::
::: '.::::::
• : : : : : : : : : : : : : ' '0

.:::::::::::::: .
.. :::::::::::-
..: " : ."
.. ..
•
•
• 0
0 •

aUght Sever,1y Leve\ \91\ corn 81iQ111 wolch E<I>8, .......

~ 0.0-\.49
Sl \.50- 2..49
S 2..50- 3 .49
B!l 3.50- 5 .00

Average b1igo severity of al1 cytop1asm types,

t
Au~st 23 - 21, 1911.

figure 8.
 Blight Severity Level
~ 0.0-1.49
t:::;:J 1.50- 2.49
1971 Com Bti9ht Watch Experiment
r:n 2.50 - 3.49
~ 3.50-5.00

Figure 9. Blight severity of Texas male sterile cytoplasm corn, August 23 - 27,1971.
 Area _ Expected ~ Actual

Deep South

Mid South

Eastern States

East and Central Corn Belt

Western Corn Belt L

Norther n States
«
o 20 40 60 80
Percent of Total

Figure 10. Comparison by geographic area of expected and actual proportion of normal cytoplasm
seed planted in 1971.
 Proportion of Acres of:
~ N Cytoplasm
.~ T Cytoplasm 1971 Can Bli9ht WalCh ExpIrimeN
fJ1J Blends of T and N
o Other

Figure 11. Distribution of corn cytoplasm types by geographic area in the Corn Belt in 1971.
The highest proportions of resistant types were planted in the eastern Corn Belt.
Acres per Flightline x 1000
EJ 0- 9 ~ 100- 149
mm 10- 49 ~ 150- 199 1971 c.n aight Walch Ell*iment
~ 5)- 99 _ 200 -250'

Figure 12. Density of corn acres in the experiment test area.

 Planting Date
100

80 1971 ","
",

"0

.S!
11.
G)
'E
60 ", '"
/45-Yeor Ave .
"
'E
.Q)
to)
40
/
., /
/

~ /
20 /
,..JI'
"
4/17 4/24 5/1 5/8 5115 5/22 5129
Date
1971 Com Blight Watch Experiment

Figure 13. Favorable spring weather enabled famen to plmt

the 1971 com crop 10 d~s to two weeks earlier than normal.

Comparison of 1971,ond Normal Temperatures

eo Nannal
_-:::::::-:=-=,..._-.::_:.;-::-=-_L ____ . . .... """'-'----
-
i70
I
{!60

1..13 6120 1127 714 7/11 7118 7/25 1/1 III I liS 1122 8129
DIll

Figure 14. Above-normal. temperatures in June and early July were

nearly ideal. for com growth. Below-normal temperatures from
mid-July to mid-August greatly retarded further blight develop-
ment and were favorable for high com yields.
 16

BliQht S.vwity .Level

1971 Com IIitht watch Eaperim"

Figure 15. Number of acres in each blight severity class in the

Corn Belt t August 23 - 27. At this time the crop wu nearing
maturity and further blight development would have little effect
on yields.
 • August I Forecast • December I Actual

100

Q)
... 90
u
<!
"-
~ 80
:2
Q)

~ Q) 70
0'
...
o
Q)

~ 60

o 11\ Ind Iowa' Minn Mo Ohio Neb u.s.

Figure 16. With favorable weather for corn and restricted bli!bt development, record high
corn yields were produced in 1971.