Bob Mulrooney, Extension Plant Pathologist; bobmul@udel.edu
On July 10th, two new counties in Florida, Hamilton and Columbia, were confirmed to have rust-infected kudzu. On July 9th, the first report of soybean rust in Georgia (Brooks County) was confirmed on soybean. Kudzu collected on July 2nd in Jefferson County, Florida (just east of Tallahassee) was found positive for soybean rust. The county was positive earlier in 2008, but the disease could no longer be found later in the winter. Also, soybean rust was found in a soybean sentinel plot in Gadsden County. Rust had already been detected in Gadsden County on kudzu at the end of May.
Since the beginning of 2008, soybean rust has been reported in one county in Alabama; one county in Georgia, 13 counties in Florida; three counties in Louisiana; one county in Mississippi, and three counties in Texas. Rust was also reported in three states (5 municipalities) in Mexico on yam bean and soybean. These have been destroyed or are no longer active.