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Integrated Pest & Crop Management Newsletter
University of Missouri-Columbia Vol. 16, No. 2 Article 2 of 5 February 21, 2006
The folks in the southern United States haven’t gotten much of a break from soybean rust! Scouting of kudzu and other possible hosts continued late in the year with the last report of the 2005 season being the detection of soybean rust on the last two green leaves of a one acre kudzu patch in Mobile County, Alabama, on December 21, 2005. And for the 2006 season, scouting for Phakopsora pachyrhizi, the Asian soybean rust pathogen, has already begun in the southern United States. At this time of the year most of the scouting is on kudzu and scouting is ongoing from Florida northward through Georgia and Alabama and westward to Texas. Reports of active soybean rust on kudzu have come in from Florida (11 counties), Georgia (2 counties) and Alabama (1 county). In many of these cases a large portion of the kudzu patch has been killed back by low temperatures but portions of the patch, a single vine in the patch or few a few leaves in protected areas have remained green. Scouting is concentrating on green tissue surviving in protected areas or portions of kudzu patches. The National Map Commentary at www.sbrusa.net, points out that it is unknown whether soybean rust is more widely distributed in the southern United States in early February 2006 than it was a year ago. Scouting during the last part of 2005 and the first part of 2006 has been more extensive and intensive. Results from 2006 scouting efforts are available through this Website and are being updated as detections occur in southern states. Although it is on the early side to begin scouting for soybean rust in Missouri, it is important to be aware of what is developing in the rest of the country. For 2006 it will be crucial for growers and anyone involved in soybean production to stay informed of disease development and weather patterns in the southern United States, to be aware of results from the sentinel plot system in Missouri and states close to Missouri, to scout fields and to be prepared to take prompt action if the risk of soybean rust occurring in Missouri develops.
Laura Sweets
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