As the name implies, southern corn rust is primarily found in the southern corn growing areas of the U.S. However, it has been pushing those boundaries farther north in recent years and is moving quicker than ever this year. By August of 2015, the disease had worked as far north as fields in Illinois, Indiana, Nebraska, and Missouri. Reports say late planted corn will be at the most risk of developing the disease. With a heatwave in the Midwest and the Deep South this week, the disease has a better chance to spread rapidly.
Late planted corn delayed by a wet spring is the most at-risk. If corn is still silking or in the milking stage, growers need to get scouting and consider fungicides if it shows up in their fields. The corn rust symptoms are orange pustules and can be confused with common rust, which prefers cooler weather. The report says fields can suffer serious yield loss, even if the disease doesn’t arrive till mid-summer.
Source: NAFB News Service