Because soybean rust spreads so quickly, it is important to make fungicide applications at the proper time.

Most experts recommend spraying a fungicide preventively between R1 and R2, or when the threat of disease is high, so its important to be able to identify the growth stage of the soybean plant. Applications made before R1 show no or little rust-control benefits, nor do applications made after R6. Listed below are descriptions and pictures of the reproductive growth stages.

Click here to view photos of each growth stage for soybeans