Source: Emily Unglesbee, PROGRESSIVE FARMER, 10/30/19

Weather extremes are a major threat to U.S. row crops, as 2019 demonstrated vividly. But some insects and diseases actually thrive in the chaos of flooding, drought, hail and heavy rainfalls, and they are poised to prosper in the years ahead. Diseases that prefer overly wet seasons, such as sudden death syndrome (SDS) and Physoderma brown spot, or overly dry seasons, such as charcoal rot, are posing greater challenges to Midwest farmers, said Iowa State University Extension plant pathologist Daren Mueller.

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