From Dr. John Mueller: Southern rust has been found in two counties, Tift and Seminole, in southwest Georgia. The normal pattern is for southern rust to “blow up” across GA to SC.
Simply put, the current weather pattern is perfect for this to happen. Things could happen quickly!
If your corn is at or past tasseling, it would be a good idea to have fungicide on hand and get ready to spray if any disease is found.
On a more positive note, no soybean rust has been detected. It allegedly would follow the same pattern, but we have seen rust do weird things in the past, like show up first in SC near Myrtle Beach. I am still extremely reluctant to spray soybeans before flowering unless something like rust appears.
Keep those raincoats handy for the next week! Contact your local agronomy agent if you have any questions or concerns about fungicide application timing, use, or product recommendations based on foliar diseases.
