Sentinel Plots Keep Watch for Diseases

By Laura Temple

Since 2005, a series of soybean sentinel plots across Georgia have been serving as lookouts for the appearance of Asian soybean rust, or ASR. The disease threatens soybeans annually in Georgia and other Gulf Coast states — including Alabama, Florida, Louisiana and Mississippi.

“The sentinel plot program was started to help soybean farmers manage rust, but their value has been extended to other diseases and crops,” explains Bob Kemerait, a plant pathology professor and extension specialist with the University of Georgia. 

He relies on consistent soy checkoff funding from the Georgia Agricultural Commodity Commission for Soybeans to maintain and monitor the soybean sentinel plots.

To read the full article, visit the Soybean Research & Information Network.