Volume 2 Issue 7     July 6, 2005

‘ Tis the Season
The following are field days scheduled for the month of July. To keep current with field days and meetings in the region, keep these links available.

Soybean Rust: Having fun in the sun down south
The spread of Phakopsora pachyrhizi spores, causal organism of soybean rust, continues to be the topic of interest for southern soybean-producing states. As I write this, several counties in Florida have been confirmed to have active spore-producing pustules on kudzu leaves (an aggressive weedy species that’s also susceptible to the disease) and, as of June 29, the disease has been identified on soybean plants in a Marion county, FL sentinel plot.

2005 Soybean Rust Fungicide Use Guidelines
The Adobe *PDF document provides a fungicide use guideline for Soybean Rust treatment decisions. Keep a copy of this chart available if and when soybean rust is detected in the region.

Potato Leafhopper Management
Potato leafhoppers have been in local fields for some time now, though generally at tolerable levels. A few exceptions have been alfalfa fields after the first cutting which required treatment.

European Corn Borer Moth Emergence Underway
The univoltine flight for the European corn borer is underway. Based on the degree day accumulations, peak flight should be occurring in the southern areas of our region, while the flight is just getting underway in the northern areas.