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ALERT: Soybean rust moves north into Burleson County, Texas
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By Marilyn Cummins, Editor
StopSoybeanRust.com
7/16/2007 9:45 p.m. CDT -- Asian soybean rust has been found on soybeans in a sentinel plot in Burleson County, Texas. This is the northernmost confirmed rust on soybean in Texas and the seventh county with rust in the state this year.
In tonight's Texas state commentary, officials also reported that "Rust is widespread in Victoria and Calhoun counties. It is present in Wharton County, and there are preliminary reports of its presence in Jackson and Matagorda counties."
Rust was confirmed late last week in commercial soybeans in Victoria and Calhoun counties. Officials said fields in the Upper Coast counties -- including Calhoun, Victoria, Jackson, Wharton, Colorado and Fort Bend -- "are at high risk for rust development and a preventative fungicide application is advised if these fields are not at R6."
At this point in the season last year, only one Texas county was known to have soybean rust: Hidalgo, and it was no longer found there after March. By the end of 2006, these seven Texas counties were or had been positive for rust: Hidalgo (2/22), Liberty (8/20), Jefferson (9/14), Polk (10/15), Calhoun (10/30), Victoria (10/31) and Wharton (11/3). Only one county had rust in 2005: Liberty, found 11/10/2005.
Six of the seven positive counties in Texas have infections on soybeans.
Rust has spread in two infected Louisiana parishes
Today, Louisiana officials said Asian soybean rust was confirmed in two new locations in parishes where ASR was previously found in 2007. The first was a soybean sentinel plot in St. Mary Parish, where incidence and severity were both low. The second was in Iberia Parish in a soybean sentinel plot planted on a research station. Incidence in that plot was 75 percent; severity was about 15 percent.
"Continued scattered showers have occurred making conditions favorable for ASR development," the state commentary said. Scouting continues across the state, as do applications of fungicides, especially in the southern parishes. The targets include the traditional diseases plus soybean rust.
Soybean rust active again in Gadsden County, Florida
Today's Florida state commentary said soybean rust was found in a soybean research plot in Gadsden County July 6, 2007. "This is a county that was infected in 2004, 2005, 2006 and 2007," it said. "It is the first active infection observed in Gadsden County since March." Gadsden is in the Panhandle, across the border from Decatur County in southwest Georgia.
"Most commercial soybeans are in the early reproductive stages and susceptible to rust and resulting yield loss if infected," Florida officials said.
No rust in Georgia, yet, but on alert
In response to the news of the latest Gadsden County, Florida, rust find (above), Bob Kemerait of the University of Georgia put up the following commentary:
"It is now known that Asian soybean rust is present in a small soybean plot near Quincy, Fla. This rust DOES NOT represent a natural spread into the panhandle region of Florida, and thus does not indicate a general spread of Asian soybean rust into the area. I scouted sentinel plots in Attapulgus carefully on Sunday, 15 July, and found no rust.
"Soybean producers in southwestern Georgia should recognize that conditions are very favorable for the spread of rust. The presence of soybean rust in Gadsden County, Florida, does increase risk of spread into Georgia, but only slightly. This field plot is an isolated location, and we hope that risk of spread from that location will be very remote. We will continue to scout sentinel plots in Attapulgus very carefully for any rust development in the state.
"Conditions have been quite favorable for the development of Asian soybean rust over much of our production area in Georgia as of late, though rust is still not found," Kemerait said. "I believe that it is only a matter of time before rust is found in Georgia, and spread could occur fairly quickly after that point."
USDA commentary and forecast
The U.S. Soybean Rust Commentary this evening summarizes the finds of 2007 -- 33 counties and parishes in all:
"In 2007, rust has been reported in five counties in Alabama (one soybean), 10 counties in Florida (one soybean), five counties in Georgia (all kudzu), five parishes in Louisiana (five soybean), one county in Mississippi (kudzu), and seven counties in Texas (six soybean)."
The latest USDA rust forecast predicts winds will keep blowing from the south over infected areas most of the week, making the risk high for spore transport into northern Louisiana and Mississippi. Rust also could be transported into southern Alabama and George as winds from the east cross the Florida Panhandle.
Source: U.S. and state commentaries on www.sbrusa.net.
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