Harvest moved forward at furious speed this season with few breaks 

By Scott Gabbard, Senior Administrator, Purdue On The Farm 

Harvest has moved forward this year at a furious pace, at least from my perspective and the results of windshield-survey miles. When rain delays did occur, they came as a welcomed relief for most farm families to which we’ve spoken. These breaks provided a chance to make necessary minor repairs and catch up on other chores. 

Our data is still coming in; some of it is finished, but there remains end-of-year survey work to be completed. We are asking farmers and educators to provide assessments of how we performed, how they performed, and what we can do together next season to improve — it’s an ongoing process. 

One set of data that we’ll be discussing this winter pertains to the crop diseases that appeared during summer. As recently reported in Indiana Prairie Farmer, the number of soybean samples submitted to the Purdue Plant and Pest Diagnostic Lab (PPDL) for analysis remained relatively unchanged compared to last year, but corn sample submissions increased nearly threefold. Now that sample submission is finished, we can highlight this chapter of the 2025 crop season in more detail. 

In addition to the samples covered by checkoff dollars from farm operations statewide, Purdue On The Farm submitted 49 composite samples from 16 unique counties throughout Indiana. Due to the nature of our sample collections, these turned into 112 samples for analysis. 

How does 49 turn into 112? When scouting fields, we collect samples — usually leaves, though sometimes entire plants — with multiple issues for analysis. We may also send a composite consisting of multiple tissue samples from a scouted field. 

Of those 112 subsamples, 85 were confirmed cases of disease or insect damage (including Southern corn rust, thrip damage and Rhizoctonia root rot). Twenty-five were suspected issues, such as nutritional deficiencies, genetic disorders, chemical injury or sunscald. One was undetermined, and another was undetected. 

Southern rust was confirmed in 10 subsamples. Many readers undoubtedly had to manage this disease during the season. Our first two confirmed Southern rust samples were delivered to PPDL just one day apart — from Knox and Starke counties on July 29-30, respectively. Corn tar spot, affected by our sampling schedule and this year’s growing conditions, showed up in six subsamples. The usual culprits — Northern corn leaf blight and corn gray leaf spot — were also observed. 

While red crown rot did not show up in our surveyed fields this year, submitted samples indicated that the educators and staff were looking for it. Fusarium root and crown rot (2 times), Pythium crown rot, and soybean stem canker (3 times) were all confirmed. 

So, another year makes it from the bag to the bin, but the data crunching has just begun. May your harvest come safely to close so that your family can enjoy your presence this holiday season.