Bob Mulrooney, Extension Plant Pathologist; bobmul@udel.edu
It is the first week of June and there is no active soybean rust in the US. This is very unusual compared to past seasons. The cold winter in the South killed back kudzu and reduced most of the overwintered spores in that region. Dry weather again in the South is not providing the conditions needed for infection. Only time will tell what this season’s rust scenario will be. The southern states continue to monitor for rust using the established sentinel plot system that is in place.