Maize Diseases: Farmers Beware of These 5 Dangerous Diseases of Maize

Maize is one of the most versatile crops having wide adaptability under varied agro climatic conditions. In India, maize is the 3rd most important food crop after rice & wheat. It is predominantly a Kharif crop but is cultivated throughout the year. 

Maize is a major cash crop in India & is extensively grown in all the states of the country for various purposes including grain, fodder, green cobs, sweet corn, baby corn, popcorn in peri-urban areas. It is used as a raw material for alcoholic beverages, cosmetics, gum, paper and packaging industry etc. 

It is the main source of income for the farmers of Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Maharashtra, Himachal Pradesh and Rajasthan. 

In case of a pest attack, Farmers suffer a lot as they are not able to recognize the symptoms of various maize diseases. This is where Krish-e Nidaan app will prove to be very helpful for the farmers. 

Krish-e Nidaan identifies common plant diseases and pests affecting your crop and provides an instant solution, simply by uploading a photo of your crop. It is a perfect health partner for your crops & provides the right plant disease diagnosis & scientific solutions. 

Not just that Mahindra has another wonderful crop app, Krish-e which offers various digital farming services & provides valuable agriculture information and a personalized crop calendar for your farm. This farm app leverages the combination of technology and experience to provide crop information which improves the crop yield for each farmer. 

Let us have a look at some of the most common & disastrous diseases of Maize: 

Stalk Rot of Maize: 

Stalk rots are caused by various fungi and bacterial pathogens which affect the plants at the time of maturity. Stalk rot contributes to 10-20% losses. Poor filling of cobs, and lodging of the plants is caused by this disease.  

Symptoms: Premature drying of lower leaves, Soft Internodes & appear tan brown from outside and pink or reddish inside. The pith is completely rotten and the stalk may lodge. 

Downy Mildew of Maize: 

Downey Mildew causes significant loss to the yield and can be controlled with the use of systemic fungicides such as metalaxyl & propamocarb.  

Symptoms: The symptoms appear on the younger leaves. White or light green stripes appear. A white mat of fungal growth can be seen on the lower or both the surfaces of leaves during wet weather. 

Leaf Blight of Maize:  

This disease predisposes the plant for the bacterial stalk rot and is common in Sikkim, Meghalaya, Manipur & West Bengal. 

Symptoms: The disease symptoms appear as boat shaped, light grey or brown lesions on lower leaves and also on upper leaves. The cobs are small & poorly filled. 

Maydis Leaf Spot:  

Symptoms of this disease appear as a large number of minute to large spots of 3.75 cm long and 1.75 cm in width on leaves. The lesions are oval and zonated. These lesions coalesce and leaves may show brown coloured stripes.  

Grey Leaf Spot: 

The disease is caused by cercospora zeae-maydis. The leaf spots are brown, narrow & long which become ash grey in humid weather. The spots are mostly found on the basal portion of leaves but may also appear on leaf sheaths and stem.