Publications by authors named "Nathan Kleczewski"

Gray leaf spot (GLS) is an important corn disease reportedly caused by Cercospora zeae-maydis and C. zeina. Recently, flutriafol, a demethylation inhibitor (azole) fungicide received EPA registration as Xyway® LFR®, a product that is applied at planting for management of fungal diseases in corn, including suppression of GLS.

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Tar spot of corn ( L.) is a significant disease in the United States and Canada caused by , an obligate biotroph fungus. However, field research critical for understanding and managing the disease has been hindered by a need for methods to inoculate corn with in field environments.

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As soybean () production continues to expand in the United States and Canada, so do pathogens and pests that directly threaten soybean yield potential and economic returns for farmers. One such pathogen is the soybean cyst nematode (SCN; ). SCN has traditionally been managed using SCN-resistant cultivars and rotation with nonhost crops, but the interaction of SCN with sudden death syndrome (SDS; caused by ) in the field makes management more difficult.

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Plants produce a range of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) that mediate vital ecological interactions between herbivorous insects, their natural enemies, plants, and soil dwelling organisms including arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF). The composition, quantity, and quality of the emitted VOCs can vary and is influenced by numerous factors such as plant species, variety (cultivar), plant developmental stage, root colonization by soil microbes, as well as the insect developmental stage, and level of specialization of the attacking herbivore. Understanding factors shaping VOC emissions is important and can be leveraged to enhance plant health and pest resistance.

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Article Synopsis
  • Phyllachora maydis is a fungal pathogen responsible for tar spot disease in corn, first identified in the U.S. in 2015.
  • Research has focused on identifying the environmental factors that foster tar spot development, with moderate temperatures (18-23 °C) over longer periods being key to its growth.
  • This study has led to the creation of predictive models using various weather parameters, enhancing the understanding of P. maydis and laying groundwork for anticipating future outbreaks.
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Article Synopsis
  • Tar spot is an escalating disease affecting corn, caused by the fungus Phyllachora maydis, and has been found in 18 U.S. states and one Canadian province as of 2023.
  • A new method was developed to successfully infect 100% of corn plants with tar spot, using vacuum-collection tools to harvest spores and maintaining specific humidity and temperature conditions.
  • The findings allow for consistent disease study and highlight that storage conditions of spores can significantly influence the success of disease induction.
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The effects of a fluopyram seed treatment on lesion nematodes ( spp.) and other plant-parasitic nematodes (PPNs) were evaluated on corn in multiple field locations in 2020 and 2021. The highest rate of fluopyram seed treatment (0.

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Tar spot, caused by , is an emerging disease of corn in the United States. Stromata of  are sometimes surrounded by necrotic lesions known as fisheyes and were previously reported to be caused by the fungus  . The association of  with fisheye lesions has not been well documented outside of initial descriptions from the early 1980s.

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Frogeye leaf spot (FLS), caused by , is an economically important disease of soybean in the United States. Data from 66 uniform fungicide trials (UFTs) conducted from 2012 to 2021 across eight states (Alabama, Arkansas, Illinois, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Tennessee) were gathered and analyzed to determine the efficacy and profitability of the following fungicides applied at the beginning pod developmental stage (R3): azoxystrobin + difenoconazole (AZOX + DIFE), difenoconazole + pydiflumetofen (DIFE + PYDI), pyraclostrobin (PYRA), pyraclostrobin + fluxapyroxad + propiconazole (PYRA + FLUX + PROP), tetraconazole (TTRA), thiophanate-methyl (TMET), thiophanate-methyl + tebuconazole (TMET + TEBU), and trifloxystrobin + prothioconazole (TFLX + PROT). A network meta-analytic model was fitted to the log of the means of FLS severity data and to the nontransformed mean yield for each treatment, including the nontreated.

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Objective: Tar spot is a foliar disease of corn caused by Phyllachora maydis, which produces signs in the form of stromata that bear conidia and ascospores. Phyllachora maydis cannot be cultured in media; therefore, the inoculum source for studying tar spot comprises leaves with stromata collected from naturally infected plants. Currently, there is no effective protocol to induce infection under controlled conditions.

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Frogeye leaf spot (FLS), caused by , is an important foliar disease affecting soybean in the United States. A meta-analytic approach including 39 fungicide trials conducted from 2012 to 2021 across eight states (Alabama, Arkansas, Illinois, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Tennessee) was used to assess the relationship between FLS severity and soybean yield. Correlation and regression analyses were performed separately to determine Fisher's transformation of correlation coefficients (Z), intercept (β) and slope (β).

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In late July of 2022, corn leaves with spots were observed in a field at North Carolina State University's Vernon James Research and Extension Center (35.873294º N, 76.658599º W; Plymouth NC).

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Phytophthora root and stem rot (PRR), caused by , is one of the most devastating oomycete diseases of soybean in Illinois. Single resistant genes () are used to manage this pathogen but has adapted to , causing failure of resistance in many regions. In addition to , recent reports indicate that could also cause root rot in soybean.

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Seed treatments for the management of sudden death syndrome (SDS) caused by are available in the United States and Canada; however, side-by-side comparisons of these seed treatments are lacking. Sixteen field experiments were established in Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, and Wisconsin, United States, and Ontario, Canada, in 2019 and 2020 to evaluate seed treatment combinations. Treatments included a nontreated check (NTC), fungicide and insecticide base seed treatments (base), fluopyram, base + fluopyram, base + saponin extracts from , base + fluopyram + heat-killed , base + pydiflumetofen, base + thiabendazole + heat-killed , and base + thiabendazole + extracts heat-killed .

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Background: Viruses negatively impact soybean production by causing diseases that affect yield and seed quality. Newly emerging or re-emerging viruses can also threaten soybean production because current control measures may not be effective against them. Furthermore, detection and characterization of new plant viruses requires major efforts when no sequence or antibody-based resources are available.

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The genus contains numerous obligate fungal parasites that produce raised, melanized structures called stromata on their plant hosts referred to as tar spot. Members of this genus are known to infect many grass species but generally do not cause significant damage or defoliation, with the exception of . which has emerged as an important pathogen of maize throughout the Americas, but the origin of this pathogen remains unknown.

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is a soilborne fungus responsible for red crown rot (RCR) in soybeans. Recently, this disease has been detected in new areas within the United States and Asia, where it has been reported to cause significant yield losses. To date, no data on the efficacy of fungicide seed treatments for suppressing RCR in soybeans are available.

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Quantifying symptoms of tar spot of corn has been conducted through visual-based estimations of the proportion of leaf area covered by the pathogenic structures generated by (stromata). However, this traditional approach is costly in terms of time and labor, as well as prone to human subjectivity. An objective and accurate method, which is also time and labor-efficient, is of an urgent need for tar spot surveillance and high-throughput disease phenotyping.

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Random-effect meta-analyses were performed on data from 240 field trials conducted between 2005 and 2018 across nine U.S. states and Ontario, Canada, to quantify the yield response of soybean after application of foliar fungicides at beginning pod (R3) stage.

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Diaporthe seed decay can compromise seed quality in soybean [ (L.) Merr.] in the warm and humid production areas of the United States during crop maturation.

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Stagonospora nodorum blotch (SNB) of wheat, caused by , is managed using cultural practices, resistant varieties, and foliar fungicides. Frequent fungicide use can select for fungicide resistance, making certain chemistries less effective; this may in part explain the increasing severity of SNB in the mid-Atlantic United States. Quinone outside inhibitor (QoI) resistance has been documented for a diversity of fungi, but it has not been reported for in the United States.

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Powdery mildew, caused by the obligate fungal pathogen , has been increasing in incidence and severity on wheat in the Chesapeake Bay region of the mid-Atlantic United States. Although fungicides are used for in-season management of powdery mildew, no studies to date have assessed the ability of these products to control disease after pathogen arrival/infection (curative activity) and the duration of disease control provided after fungicide application (protective activity) under controlled conditions. Five commercially available fungicide products, including Caramba, Stratego YLD, Priaxor, Prosaro, and Trivapro, were applied at either 3 or 5 days after inoculation with spores to assess curative activity.

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Brown marmorated stink bug ( Stål) is an invasive agricultural pest that causes severe damage to many crops. To determine potential associations between feeding damage, infection, and mycotoxin contamination in field corn, a field survey was conducted in eight counties in Virginia. Results indicated an association between feeding damage and fumonisin contamination.

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As complete host resistance in soybean has not been achieved, Sclerotinia stem rot (SSR) caused by continues to be of major economic concern for farmers. Thus, chemical control remains a prevalent disease management strategy. Pesticide evaluations were conducted in Illinois, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, and Wisconsin from 2009 to 2016, for a total of 25 site-years ( = 2,057 plot-level data points).

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In mid-Atlantic soft-red winter wheat (SRWW) production, the standard timing for a fungicide application is between flag leaf emergence (Feekes growth stage [FGS] 8) and heading (FGS 10.5). However, two-pass and anthesis (FGS 10.

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