The Row Crops Pathology Project conducts basic and applied research on diseases that impact soybeans, corn, sunflower, and sorghum in South Dakota. Emphasis is on diseases caused by fungi. Corn and soybeans are arguably the two most important crops grown in South Dakota, accounting for almost 8 million planted acres and an economic value in the millions. These crops have tradiitionally been planted in rows and cultivated by mechanical methods. In recent years, new methods of farming (e.g. narrow row spacings, reduced tillage, introduction of geneticaly modified seed, new herbicides) have had dramatic effects on production systems. Movement to these new production systems may also have implications for the incidence and severity of crop diseases.