By Anas Ashfaq and Camilo H. Parada Rojas
To all soybean growers in New York State, I want to call attention to white mold of soybean. We are starting to see white mold showing up in soybeans across the state. On August 11, 2026, Mike Stanyard confirmed white mold in a field near Macedon, NY, and Eric Antrim has also found it in St. Lawrence County. We now have additional reports from eastern New York as well. This is a clear signal for growers to check fields and determine if their soybean crop is within the recommended window for control of white mold, between R1 – beginning bloom and R3 – beginning pod. This is especially critical for fields with a history of white mold.
What to look for: White mold usually shows up as white, cottony fungal growth on soybean stems, branches, and pods. Symptoms typically appear between R3 – beginning pod and R6 – full seed, starting as white, cottony growth around stem nodes that can spread up and down the stem and eventually girdle it. Over time, the fungus produces hard, black survival structures (sclerotia) on or inside infected stems and pods. Affected plants often have wilted, brown leaves that stay attached to the stem. Even if the canopy looks uniformly green from the road, stems lower in the canopy may already be a week or more into disease development.
Source : cornell.edu