By Paul Price, Meaux, James M., Leonards, James P., Purvis, Myra, Padgett, Guy B., Ezell, Dustin, Collins, Fred L., Harrell, Dustin L.
LSU AgCenter
In areas of Louisiana where rice and soybean rotations are common, aerial blight of soybean (Figure 1) is a major problem. The fungal pathogen Rhizoctonia solani also causes sheath blight of rice (Figure 2). Since the late 1990s, strobilurin fungicides, which are known as Qol fungicides, have been used extensively in rice and soybean production to combat many foliar diseases. During the 2010s, field failures using these materials to manage aerial blight and sheath blight began to occur, particularly in the southwest portion of the state where 70%-75% of Louisiana rice is produced.