Tar spot is expected to be a problem in areas where corn farmers have seen the pathogen in the past.

Mark Storr with BASF says crop diseases are hard to get rid of.

“Once the disease is in an area it essentially becomes a permanent resident, at least diseases like tar spot. Because what they do is they overwinter on disease tissue.”

He tells Brownfield the amount of pressure comes down to what he calls a “disease triangle.”

“You have to have the pathogen, which in this case is a fungal organism.

…