November 19, 2004

Soybean Rust Reported in 2nd US State

Asian soybean rust has been detected in leaf samples taken from a county in Mississippi and a research station in Florida, according to USDA's Animal Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) on today.

USDA's soybean rust detection assessment team was dispatched last week after two leaf samples from a research farm at Louisiana State University were confirmed to have the yield-robbing fungal disease. APHIS and Agricultural Research Service scientists believe the introduction of the fungus in the continental US was caused by a windblown event related to this year's unusual hurricane season.