Maize is the most important grain crop in Mexico due to the largest area grown and as the main source of feeding nationwide; being Sinaloa de major producer. The same crop over repeated seasons has favored disease proliferation of stem and ear rot mainly attributed to Fusarium spp which represents a risk potential so that growers are warned top pay close attention to crop management. With the purpose of evaluating the effect of synthetic fertilization with compost and irrigation on maize stem and ear rot at Valle del Fuerte. Field experiments were conducted in the growing season of 2009 at INIFAP. The experiments were arranged under a split plot in randomized complete block design with three replicates. At the end of the season, it was found that fertilization or irrigation by themselves did not have any significant effect in yield and phenology variables evaluated. However, incidence on...

Maize is the most important grain crop in Mexico due to the largest area grown and as the main source of feeding nationwide; being Sinaloa de major producer. The same crop over repeated seasons has favored disease proliferation of stem and ear rot mainly attributed to Fusarium spp which represents a risk potential so that growers are warned top pay close attention to crop management. With the purpose of evaluating the effect of synthetic fertilization with compost and irrigation on maize stem and ear rot at Valle del Fuerte. Field experiments were conducted in the growing season of 2009 at INIFAP. The experiments were arranged under a split plot in randomized complete block design with three replicates. At the end of the season, it was found that fertilization or irrigation by themselves did not have any significant effect in yield and phenology variables evaluated. However, incidence on...

Corn production is affected by fungi of the genus Rhizoctonia. The objective of this study was to characterize, using morphology, DNA sequence analysis, and pathogenicity, Rhizoctonia isolates associated with corn with banded leaf spot symptoms in commercial fields in northern Sinaloa. Diseased plants were collected in the municipalities of Ahome, El Fuerte, and Guasave, obtaining 27 isolates. Morphological characterization on PDA showed colonies with whitish to brown mycelium, pigment release into the medium, and amorphous, red and brown sclerotia with a diameter < 1 mm, characteristics described for Rhizoctonia. For molecular characterization, genomic DNA was extracted, part of the RPB2 gene was amplified by PCR, and the amplified products were sequenced. Phylogenetic analysis confirmed the identification of 18 isolates as Rhizoctonia zeae and 9 isolates as Rhizoctonia solani. The R...