P-098 - Short-Stature Corn and Fungicide Sprays: Exploring the Relationship Between Application Methods and Hybrids

Short-stature corn hybrids (Preceon Smart Corn System, Bayer CropScience) can offer lower lodging risk and easier in-season access for fertilization, fungicide applications, and scouting. However, little is known about how different fungicide application methods impact deposition, disease control, and yield compared to regular hybrids. Field studies in 2023 evaluated two short-stature and one regular-stature hybrid and one of each in 2024. Four fungicide application methods were tested in 2023: airplane, drone, ground sprayer, and 360 undercover®, and only the first three in 2024. The fungicide Delaro Complete was applied at silking (VT/R1) stage. In 2023, more fungicide was recovered from the center rows of the spray swaths across treatments and from ear leaves applied with the 360 undercover® method. Across hybrids, 360 undercover® had the most deposition. In 2024, fungicide concentration was less in the lower canopy, regardless of method or hybrid. In both years, the airplane application method had the lowest deposition. The drone treatment on regular-stature corn had more deposition in 2024, while the airplane treatment had the least in both hybrids. Foliar disease, assessed in ear leaves, remained low in both years, with the highest severity observed in non-treated controls. Yield in the drone and airplane treatments was greater than the non-treated control in 2023 and greater in all three application types in 2024. This is the first study on fungicide deposition, disease, and yield across spray methods in short- and regular-stature corn hybrids.