Bob Mulrooney, Extension Plant Pathologist; bobmul@udel.edu
On July 28, soybean rust was confirmed in soybean production fields in Cameron County, Texas. On July 25, soybean rust was detected on leaves collected from a soybean sentinel plot in Baldwin County, Alabama. This is the first report of rust on soybeans in Alabama this year. The disease was observed on kudzu in Mobile County earlier this year.
Rust is developing more slowly this year than last which is good news for soybean growers. The risk of rust reaching us is low at this time, but the situation could change. Disease development in the South has been slow so far. This delay may mean that if soybean rust does eventually make it north it will be too late to affect yields as we have seen in the past. Our six sentinel plots are being checked weekly now since all but one plot have reached at least R1 (flowering).