Abstract: The present disclosure is in the field of plant breeding and disease resistance. A method for the development of a corn plant enhanced for resistance to Colletotrichum graminicola and secondarily to Fusarium spp., both of which incite stalk rot disease, is provided. Also provided is a method to identify corn plants with polynucleotide sequences identified to serve as diagnostic markers for resistance to these pathogens. Further described is the introgression of desired genetic material from one or more parent plants into progeny with precision and accuracy to increase their resistance to these diseases with minimal linkage drag from the donor genome.