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Disease risk for late planted soybeans

Late planted soybeans in the Midwest have the potential of being at risk from soybean rust, but Kiersten Wise, Purdue University Extension crop disease specialist says the dry conditions in the southern U.S. is helping relieve some of that concern.

“Soybean rust really needs a lot of moisture to get going and develop, and it just hasn’t been able to do that, so there are very low levels of the disease down in the southern states,” said Wise. “So that should help us out with our crop here in the Midwest.”

But the Purdue specialist says that doesn’t mean soybean growers don’t have other disease concerns with late planted soybeans.

“We are starting to see a little more Phytophthora root rot pop up, we’ve had a lot of warm, saturated soils and those are good conditions for that soil borne disease,” Wise said.

The Purdue crop disease specialist recommends growers continue to scout their fields and let them know if you’re seeing anything that needs attention.

Audio: Kiersten Wise, Purdue University (2:45 MP3)