New soybean pathogen confirmed in Illinois

A plant pathologist with the University of Illinois says a new soybean pathogen has been confirmed in the state.

Boris Camiletti says Fusarium neocosmosporiellum can be confused for red crown rot.

“This pathogen can also produce these reddish fungal structures that are on the stem, and that has been used as a rule to identify red crown rot, and this disease can produce very similar symptoms,” he says.

The University of Illinois Plant Clinic identified the fungus in soybean plants submitted from Clay County in August.  Camiletti tells Brownfield, “It’s not new to the U.S.  It has been occurring in the southern states, like Mississippi and Louisiana. It has been also reported in Missouri.”

Despite that, Camiletti says researchers have not yet established which management practices might be effective.

“We are not sure about the impact on the yield, those plants were really affected, but it’s a developing story,” he says.

He says producers that notice soybean fields with red crown rot or sudden death syndrome symptoms should take a closer look and submit suspicious samples to the Plant Clinic.