Corn research in the Koehler lab is focused on improving management of fungal and oomycete diseases. In recent years, damping off of corn seedlings by Pythium spp. has been a growing problem. Research funded through a CANR seed grant and the Delaware Bioscience Center for Advanced Technology aims to improve understanding of species composition across the region and to characterize isolates for variability in aggressiveness and fungicide sensitivity. To assess product efficacy for regionally important diseases like grey leaf spot and northern corn leaf blight, the Koehler lab conducts annual foliar fungicide efficacy trials. The Koehler lab is also investigating management of foliar diseases with fungicides applied through irrigation in a project funded by the Maryland Grain Producers Utilization Board.
