Corn Yield Loss Estimates Due to Diseases in the United States and Ontario, Canada, from 2020 to 2023
Corn (Zea mays L.) was planted on 375.1 million acres (151.8 million hectares) cumulative from 2020 to 2023 in the United States (U.S.) and Ontario, Canada. During these four years, 59.6 billion bushels (1.5 billion metric tons) of grain were produced, valued at $325.9 billion U.S. dollars (USD). Plant pathogens that cause diseases limit annual grain production and reduce associated economic returns, while also increasing management costs to prevent potential losses. Plant pathologists representing 29 U.S. states and Ontario, Canada were asked to estimate annual percent yield losses caused by 37 pathogens or pathogen groups through an online survey. Grain contaminated by mycotoxins was also estimated. According to survey results, estimated overall annual percent losses ranged from negligible in Texas in 2023 to 15.8% in Michigan in 2021, and averaged 3.0% across all surveyed regions for the four-year period. Diseases reduced corn yield by an estimated 2.5 billion bushels (63.7 million metric tons) across participating locations, with tar spot (caused by Phyllachora maydis), Fusarium stalk rot (caused by Fusarium spp.), and plant-parasitic nematodes causing the most significant losses. Total estimated economic loss caused by diseases was $13.8 billion USD; and the average economic loss was $37.76 USD per acre ($93.30 USD per hectare) across all years and locations. Survey data and the resulting analysis can help inform corn disease management, and guide pathology education, policy, and research priorities among scientists, government representatives, Extension educators, and other stakeholders.
Authors
- Chelsea Harbach
- Santiago X. Mideros (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8988-2964)
- Rodrigo Onofre (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1789-347X)
- Nolan T. Anderson (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6030-4960)
- Mandy Bish (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9373-326X)
- Alison E. Robertson (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4281-6350)
- Thomas Isakeit (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6809-9954)
- Emmanuel Byamukama (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4914-5457)
- Kaitlyn Bissonnette (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5394-9031)
- David B. Langston
- Daren S. Mueller (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3005-3317)
- Martin I. Chilvers (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8832-1666)
- Madalyn K. Shires (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7417-5378)
- Michael T. Plumblee (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1645-1709)
- Kyle Broderick
- Lindsey D. Thiessen (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5029-0139)
- Thomas Wesley Allen (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2828-3420)
- Nathan M. Kleczewski (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5671-6727)
- Adam Sisson (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1223-5301)
- Paul D. Esker (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7753-3476)
- Maíra Rodrigues Duffeck (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7331-1940)
- Andrew Friskop (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3083-2812)
- Ronnie W. Heiniger (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0807-0129)
- Alyssa Collins (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1874-3254)
- Albert Tenuta (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4735-6122)
- Gary C. Bergstrom (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9613-270X)
- Dean K. Malvick (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0131-8411)
- Heather Kelly (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9936-5242)
- Kiersten Wise (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8911-6293)
- Ron F. Meyer
- Robert C. Kemerait (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0039-0822)
- Pierce A. Paul (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7912-3067)
- Darcy E. P. Telenko (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0357-1493)
- Edward J. Sikora (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6621-7454)
- Paul P. Price (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1004-3616)
- Travis Faske (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5441-1775)
- Damon L. Smith (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3436-3718)
- Daisy Ahumada
- Yuan Zeng (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2813-8960)
- John Mueller
- Tamra A. Jackson
- Douglas J. Jardine
- Alyssa K. Betts
Institutions
- University of Nebraska–Lincoln (US)
- Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (CA)
- Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (US)
- University of Minnesota (US)
- Pennsylvania State University (US)
- Illinois Department of Natural Resources (US)
- Louisiana State University Agricultural Center (US)
- University of Wisconsin–Madison (US)
- North Carolina State University (US)
- University of Kentucky (US)
- University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (US)
- State Street (United States) (US)
- University of Georgia (US)
- Iowa State University (US)
- South Dakota State University (US)
- Kansas State University (US)
- Cornell University (US)
- Purdue University West Lafayette (US)
- Blackstone (United States) (US)
- Oklahoma State University System (US)
- Planta (RU)
- Edisto Island Historic Preservation Society (US)
- Michigan United (US)
- EUnited (Belgium) (BE)
- Kerrville VA Medical Center (US)
- Plant (United States) (US)
- The Ohio State University (US)
- North Dakota State University (US)
- Goodwin College (US)
- University of Tennessee at Knoxville (US)
- University of Missouri–Kansas City (US)
- University of Missouri (US)
- University of Arkansas at Fayetteville (US)
- Clemson University (US)
- Auburn University (US)
- Virginia Tech (US)
- University of Delaware (US)
- Michigan State University (US)
- Texas A&M University (US)
- Colorado State University (US)
- Amarillo College (US)
- Mississippi State University (US)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Plant Health Progress
- Published
- 2025-11-04
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1094/php-07-25-0193-rs
- Primary Topic
- Mycotoxins in Agriculture and Food
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00