A spore trap in Champaign County, Illinois has turned up 4 rust-like spores, but plant pathologists are quick to say that this finding does NOT mean we have Asian soybean rust infection in Illinois.

“No infected plants have been found and the spores are the shape of fungal rust spores but they have not yet been identified as Asian soybean rust,” said Suzanne Bissonnette, U of I Extension Educator IPM.

At this time, she says that U of I Extension recommendations are that farmers south of Champaign County in Illinois and within a 200 mile radius begin diligent scouting for Asian soybean rust on a three day schedule.

“Check the lower half of 20 plants in 5 locations in a contiguous field. Suspicious samples consisting of 20 leaflets wrapped in a paper towel should be double bagged in zip locked bags and brought to your local Extension Unit office for pre-evaluation by diagnosticians to determine if further testing at the U of I Plant Clinic is necessary.

“Our recommendation at this time is NOT to spray fungicides for Asian soybean rust, no infection has been found,” said Bissonnette. No soybean rust has been observed in Illinois or any of the neighboring states. The USDA forecast outlook indicates that the risk of large numbers of soybean rust spores being deposited in Illinois this week is low.

According to USDA’s soybean rust forecasting model, spore deposition forecasts show the potential for low levels of soybean rust spore accumulation in Illinois this week. USDA scientists indicated that soybeans approaching pod and seed fill are at low or no risk of damage by soybean rust in Illinois. When seeds are nearly mature and begin to dry, the risk of yield loss due to soybean rust is very low.

USDA Soybean Rust Website

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