Ag Line: Meeting, Soybean Rust
By Wade Parker County Extension Coordinator

Wheat Production Meeting

We will be having a Wheat Production Meeting at the Jenkins County Extension Office on Friday, October 5, at 12:00 p.m. Lunch will be served. Dr. Dewey Lee will be on hand to deliver the latest production information and answer any questions you may have. He will focus mainly on wheat, but will answer any oat, rye, and other small grain questions. We look forward to seeing you!

Soybean Rust

As the soybean growing season progresses, I have had several questions regarding rust. Soybean rust has been confirmed in a field near Estill, South Carolina and Effingham County in Georgia. I would like to encourage farmers to apply a fungicide in with their insecticide tank-mixes. Rust is a very dangerous disease and should not be taken lightly.

Current weather conditions across much of southern Georgia (lower temperatures and increased rainfall) will help fuel the spread of soybean rust by increasing the movement of spores from field to field and by increasing the number of successful infections of spores that land on foliage.

To date, development of soybean rust has been slow within fields and across areas of Georgia. I expect that the spread of soybean rust will increase now that 1) weather conditions are more favorable and 2) much of our commercial soybean crop is in the reproductive mode.

I am often asked by growers to give them an estimate of the current risk to soybean rust in their specific area. I believe that soybean growers in Jenkins County are currently at some risk to Asian soybean rust, at least in the future, but the risk is much higher in some areas and much lower in others.

Soybean producers in east Georgia should apply a fungicide as rust begins to move. The most conservative approach may be to apply fungicides at R3 (pod development stage) growth stage as you put out other materials such as dimilin and boron. However, the soybeans are far beyond this stage. Applying a fungicide with insecticide applications is the most logical tactic to use at this time.

If you suspect rust in your fields, please call me and I will pull a sample and send it to the lab in Tifton for confirmation. Many times I can give you a preliminary diagnosis at the office.

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