Soybean rust was found in the Shelby County sentinel plot, in Millington near the Tipton County line. There was 7 out of 37 leaves with soybean rust with varying severity levels ranging from 1 to 35% (percentage of the leaf area that has lesions), with an average of 2% across the whole sample.

Estimating by the age of the pustules on the leaf, it is likely spores were deposited in the field 3-4 weeks ago, give or take a week. Kudzu in Tipton County and soybeans in Fayette County were also scouted over that past 2 days with no soybean rust found.

Most soybeans are past the growth stage of applying a fungicide. Feel free to contact your local county agent or myself if you have any questions about your specific situation and fungicide options. Sentinel soybean leaves will continue to be examined from across middle and west Tennessee for soybean rust.  Any positive observation will be reported here on news.utcrops.com, the sbrusa.net website, and the UT Rust Hot Line (1-877-875-2326).