Foliar diseases of soybean can be devastating in the South, especially the Gulf South, where humidity remains high during the day and occasional tropical storms provide ideal conditions for disease development and spread. Diseases that rarely occur elsewhere in the United States may limit soybean productivity in this region. Furthermore, broad generalizations can’t be made about which diseases may be more or less severe in the South. Cases in point are Cercospora leaf blight, which is now one of the most devastating and recalcitrant diseases in Louisiana, and Asian soybean rust, which has the potential to cause substantial economic losses to the nationwide soybean industry. As described in this presentation, much remains to be learned about these and other foliar diseases with regard to disease management. The purpose of this presentation is to provide a broad overview of the most prevalent foliar diseases in the South, including symptoms and diagnosis.
