Bob Mulrooney, Extension Plant Pathologist; bobmul@udel.edu
Soybean rust can no longer be detected in Louisiana, Texas, Mississippi or the panhandle of Florida. The disease is still active on kudzu in six counties in Florida as well as in at least one patch of kudzu in Mobile, Alabama. Soybean sentinel plots are beginning to be planted in some of the Gulf Coast states. Kudzu is also greening-up rapidly in this region of the country. There was some concern that soybean rust was moving farther and faster than in past seasons at this time. The recent scouting has shown that soybean rust is not as widely distributed as previously thought. The South is getting rain in many areas where kudzu is greening and growing and the potential is present for rust developing later.
