The U.S. Grains Council (USGC) has been working closely with the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) and other organizations representing the nation’s seed, farm, grain handling and export sectors following the agency’s confirmation of the presence of Xanthomonas vasicola pv. vasculorum (Xvv) in some counties in the U.S. Corn Belt.

Xvv is a bacterium that affects the leaves of corn plants, with symptoms appearing as narrow brown or orange-to-reddish streaks or stripes.

As APHIS said in a stakeholder notice posted on its website, this plant disease is similar to other bacterial diseases of corn. It poses no risk to human or animal health. There also is no evidence of adverse impacts on corn yields or quality from this plant disease. As such, USDA does not consider Xvv to be of quarantine significance for domestic or international trade, and said it intends to address it like any other bacterial disease of corn.

USGC and other national and state organizations have strongly supported and encouraged participation in field survey work undertaken by APHIS and the state departments of agriculture and Extension services to gather information about this plant disease and its distribution in U.S. corn while it still is in the field. We commend these entities for devoting the personnel and laboratory resources needed to quickly gather such information.

As with other bacterial diseases in plants, there are effective best management practices available to growers to control the presence of Xanthomonas in plants, including sound sanitation practices; tilling to reduce the amount of crop residue to minimize presence of the bacterium; rotating to a non-host crop; minimal use of overhead irrigation when practical; and using resistant hybrids, when available. In appearance, Xvv is very similar to another common corn plant disease known as gray leaf spot; but because it is a bacterium, Xvv cannot be treated effectively with fungicides like gray leaf spot can.

USGC and our industry colleagues appreciate the efforts underway by state departments of agriculture, Extension experts and national and state corn producer organizations to inform growers about these and other tools to reduce the risk of establishment of this disease in plants. The industry also is working with domestic and international customers to provide information about these best management practices and how they ensure a safe, abundant, reliable and economic supply of U.S. corn for consumers in the United States and around the world.

We commend APHIS for its science-based, proactive and prudent approach, and stand ready to assist the agency in conveying further information as it becomes available.

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