Webinar: Know your enemy: Sentinel plots as an early warning system for rust management

Soybean rust is a devastating disease of soybean caused by the biotrophic fungus Phakopsora pachyrhizi. The fungus infects soybean leaves, causing yellowing and premature defoliation, and impacts flowering and seed development, leading to yield losses of up to 80%. Early disease detection is critical to guide fungicide-use decisions and inform disease management strategies more broadly. As part of a comprehensive early detection system, sentinel plots can help monitor seasonal outbreaks of soybean rust. These are small plots with a minimum size of 2 square meters (usually a few rows wide and 5 to 15 meters long), that are planted with a susceptible variety 2-3 weeks before the main field. Monitoring these plots helps growers take early preventive action to save the main field before it is impacted. In this webinar, we will highlight the importance of this early warning system for tracking soybean rust infection. Our panel of experienced soybean experts will discuss establishment of sentinel plots, identification of rust, and available management options.