2012 Mississippi Soybean Sentinel Plot Program

Soybean sentinel plot in Wayne County, MS.

With funding provided by the Mississippi Soybean Promotion Board and the United Soybean Board we will continue a sentinel plot program for 2012.  Since 2005, soybean sentinel plots have been planted at key locations in MS to monitor predominantly for the presence of soybean rust.  However, over the past 3 years we have expanded the monitoring to include other general disease monitoring of soybean.  Specifically during 2010 and 2011 we were able to alert farmers to the presence of aerial web blight in eastern MS.  Observations in sentinel plots will also provide us with important information as to the presence strobilurin-resistant frogeye and/or other important diseases that may adapt to the use of fungicides.

Last year (2011), scouting was conducted throughout the sentinel plots and commercial soybean fields as well as kudzu specifically for the purposes of soybean rust monitoring.  Throughout the state several fungal soybean diseases were observed:

-aerial web blight

-cercospora blight (late-season Cercospora)

-frogeye leaf spot

-neocosmospora root rot

-Phomopsis seed decay

-pod and stem blight

-purple seed stain

-septoria brown spot

-stem canker

-target spot

Severe root-knot nematode.

In addition, heavy nematode pressure was observed in some key fields and included:

-reniform nematode

-root-knot nematode

-soybean cyst nematode

24 sentinel plots are planned for MS this year.  As of April 12, 2012 sentinel plots had emerged at 18 of the 21 locations planted.  At present, 21 sentinel plots have been planted in:

-Amite                                     -Noxubee

-Adams                                   -Pearl River

-Claiborne                               -Pike

-Greene                                   -Tippah

-Hancock                                 -Tishomingo

-Hinds*                                   -Walthall

-Issaquena                               -Warren

-Jackson                                  -Washington*

-Jefferson                                -Wayne

-Monroe                                  -Wilkinson

-Newton*

NOTE: *indicates a plot that was planted 4/10/2012

Additional sentinel plots will be planted in:

-Bolivar

-Coahoma

-DeSoto

Confirmed soybean rust as of April 13, 2012.

Presently, soybean rust has been positively identified in AL, FL, and LA at low levels.  However, with the continued warm weather and rainfall received at some of these locations over the past few weeks we are continuing to monitor the situation.  Several of the sentinel plot locations implemented this year have not been successful in the past due to excessive deer browsing.  In an attempt to increase the likelihood of a successful sentinel plot electric fence has been placed around 3 locations (Amite, Wayne, Wilkinson) to prevent deer (and wild hogs at the Wilkinson location) from destroying the plots.

The free telephone hotline (1-866-641-1847) that has served farmers with information regarding specifically soybean rust will remain in place for 2012 to serve Arkansas, Louisiana, and Mississippi.  The hotline will be updated as needed with pertinent, timely information regarding the presence or absence of particular diseases of soybean.