eFields Partnering with Growers to Evaluate Xyway™ Fungicide

Apr 29, 2022

By Stephanie Karhoff and Elizabeth Hawkins

Preventing significant yield losses from disease is likely on the forefront of growers’ minds following the 2021 growing season. A new product available to growers is FMC’s fungicide Xyway™ LFR®. OSU Extension eFields program is partnering with growers to conduct on-farm trials evaluating the effect of an at-plant soil application of flutriafol (Xyway) on corn health and yield. Information from this trial will be used to improve corn disease management recommendations for growers throughout the state.

Symptoms of Northern corn leaf blight

Symptoms of Northern corn leaf blight

At each field site, an untreated control will be compared to plots treated with Xyway applied either in-furrow and/or 2x2. Additionally, growers may also include the following treatments:

Xyway + VT/R1 Foliar Fungicide
VT/R1 Foliar Fungicide

For this study, a minimum of three replications is required, and four is preferred. Plots must also be randomized to eliminate bias due to plot order. Plots should be at least 500 feet long to ensure accurate yield monitor data.

Source : osu.edu

Video: Designing a Robotic Berry Picker

Since blackberries must be harvested by hand, the process is time-consuming and labor-intensive. To support a growing blackberry industry in Arkansas, food science associate professor Renee Threlfall is collaborating with mechanical engineering assistant professor Anthony Gunderman to develop a mechanical harvesting system. Most recently, the team designed a device to measure the force needed to pick a blackberry without damaging it. The data from this device will help inform the next stage of development and move the team closer to the goal of a fully autonomous robotic berry picker. The device was developed by Gunderman, with Yue Chen, a former U of A professor now at Georgia Tech, and Jeremy Collins, then a U of A undergraduate engineering student. To determine the force needed to pick blackberries without damage, the engineers worked with Threlfall and Andrea Myers, then a graduate student.