Late season diseases are occurring in corn and soybeans. Tar spot in corn and sclerotia or white mold plus soybean cyst nematodes (SCN) in soybeans. In many cases, it’s too late to prevent the diseases. However, there are some management practices to reduce future incidences of the diseases. For corn tar spot, the symptoms include irregularly shaped black structures on leaves. The black structures are firm, appear mostly smooth on the surface and the spots do not rub off or break open. Tar spot can also produce black spots circled by tan lesions with dark borders. Tar spot overwinters on surface crop residue. The spores are dispersed by the wind and rain droplets splashing the inoculum onto plants. The inoculum likes cool summer conditions with adequate moisture and high humidity. The recent August rains with cooler days and nights is causing good growing conditions. Field with a history of tar spot are most susceptible. The best time to apply a fungicide is at tasseling (VT) up ...