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SOYBEAN RUST MOVES TOWARDS ALABAMA, HOTLINE ESTABLISHED
Asian soybean rust was found on volunteer soybeans in Seminole County Georgia last week. Seminole County is in the southwest corner of Georgia and borders Houston County, Ala. and Jackson County, Fla. This is the first report of soybean rust on soybeans in 2005. It had already been found on "new-growth" kudzu in three counties in Florida this year. The disease has not been found in Alabama in 2005, according to Dr. Edward Sikora, a professor and Extension Plant Pathologist with the Department of Entomology and Plant Pathology of Auburn University. A new hot-line for producers, especially those without computer access, has been established to help inform producers about the spread of the disease. The number is 1-800-774-2847 (BUGS).
To monitor for the disease, 15 soybean sentinel plots have been planted in various counties in the state, Sikora said. Auburn University's Crops Team members also have been monitoring patches of kudzu in another 13-15 locations and crimson and white clover in three locations. Both the soybean plots and the kudzu/clover patches will be scouted once-a-week for soybean rust. A map showing general locations of the sentinel plots is available on the Alabama Soybean Rust website at: ww.aces.edu/dept/soybean/soybean_rust . Members of the AU Crops Team already have scouted soybean sentinel plots in several Alabama counties. All samples that were taken tested negative for rust. The USDA Soybean Rust Website at www.usda.gov/soybeanrust displays a national map of all counties that soybean rust has been found in for 2005 as well as all scouted regions of the U.S., and a national commentary provided by soybean rust experts with the USDA. The site also contains images of rust that may be helpful to producers scouting for the disease. There are links to the Alabama soybean rust web page and the Mid-South Soybean Rust web page www.soyrust.org which provides some good information on fungicides and control.
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