June 12, 2006
From: ProMED-mail<promed@promedmail.org>
Source: Stopsoybeanrust.com [edited]
<http://www.stopsoybeanrust.com/viewStory.asp?StoryID=843>

Florida soybean rust is back on kudzu, not traveling yet

Asian soybean rust is active again on kudzu in Gadsden County, Florida, even through the state is still quite dry. Officials think several nights of dew may have been enough for germination.

Jim Marois, University of Florida professor of plant pathology, reported today [9 Jun 2006] that: "We are having local showers, but overall the state is still very dry. Yesterday [8 Jun 2006], we once again found soybean rust on kudzu in Gadsden County. This is the site in the panhandle of Florida that was positive in January 2006 then negative during February
2006 after freezing weather, positive again in March 2006 when it warmed up, then negative again in April and May 2006 when we got dry. What is interesting is that the severity was moderate; a lot of leaves had several lesions. This may mean the rust, since we have had little rain, is getting its water for germination from dew, which we have had overnight for several days. The Florida kudzu canopy is fully developed, and flowering has begun in several areas. All of the soybean sentinel plots are still negative, with several plots having the MGIII starting to bloom (R1-R2). All kudzu monitoring sites and sentinel plots are being visited weekly."

Don Hershman, University of Kentucky Extension plant pathologist, commented as he forwarded Marois's report to a soybean rust listserv: "Here is a brief soybean rust update from Florida," Hershman wrote. "You will see that things have changed very little, but there is some new activity. There is no evidence at this time that soybean rust is on the brink of significant new activity anywhere in the U.S. At least that is my take on things."

--
ProMED-mail
<promed@promedmail.org>

[Asian soybean rust (ASR) is a plant disease caused by the fungus _Phakopsora pachyrhizi_. It was introduced into the USA in 2004. In addition to the crop plant soybean (_Glycine max_), cowpeas, green beans, and other edible legumes could be affected by the ASR pathogen, which causes defoliation and yield reduction. Kudzu (_Pueraria lobata_, a.k.a. Japanese arrowroot) is an important alternate host for the pathogen in southern states of the USA.

This is the 1st new report of ASR in the USA since 17 May 2006, when, after a month of no reports during February 2006, some positive finds of ASR on kudzu in the northern part of the state of Florida were noted (20060518.1402). A dry period in Florida then followed. There have still been no reports of ASR on soybean in the 2006 crop, either in production fields or experimental sentinel plots. By mid June 2005, ASR had been reported on both soybean and Kudzu in Florida and Georgia (20050309.0693, 20050429.1196).

Since the last update, 2 additional news articles have caught my attention, one described the use of PCR as a rapid and sensitive test that can detect ASR on tissues before signs of the pathogen or symptoms of the disease appear. This could have an important role to play in the management of the disease. The 2nd described improvements to the Sbrusa.net site to help growers process the information they need to manage ASR. Links to these reports are provided in "Recent links on ASR:"

Maps:
Asian soybean rust outbreaks 2006
<http://www.sbrusa.net>

The wheat rust corridor
<http://ars.usda.gov/images/docs/9757_9951/puccini_path.gif>

Pictures:
<http://www.dtnsoybeanrustcenter.com/index.cfm?show=65&mid=60&page=ALL>

Diagnosis cards (broadband best)
<http://www.aphis.usda.gov/lpa/issues/sbr/SBR_IDcard_11-04.pdf>

Links:
<http://www.sbrusa.net>
National commentary, updates from states, maps, chronology
<http://www.stopsoybeanrust.com/mc_home.asp>

Latest news, articles, maps and tracking information
<http://www.dtnsoybeanrustcenter.com/index.cfm?show=10&mid=31>

Latest news, articles and other information
<http://www.stopsoybeanrust.com/mc_resources.asp>

Recent links on ASR:
PCR detection
<http://www.stopsoybeanrust.com/viewStory.asp?StoryID=837>
Management tool
<http://www.wisconsinagconnection.com/story-national.cfm?Id=1073&yr=2006>
- Mod.JAD]

[see also in the archive:
Soybean rust, Asian strain - Brazil 20060611.1628
Soybean rust - Mexico (02) 20060525.1476
Soybean rust, Asian strain update 2006 (04): USA 20060518.1402
Soybean rust, asian strain update 2006 (03): USA 20060226.0622
Soybean rust, Asian strain update 2006 (02): USA 20060221.0568
Soybean rust - Mexico: 1st report 20060219.0546
Soybean rust, Asian strain update 2006 20060214.0482
Soybean rust, Asian strain - USA (GA) 20060208.0415
ProMED-Plant Disease Report: July - December 2005 20060201.0331
2005
----
Soybean rust, Asian strain - USA: 2005 disease summary 20051228.3694
Soybean rust, Asian strain - USA (KY)(02): confirmed 20051219.3640
Soybean rust, Asian strain - USA (multistate) (10) 20051218.3628
Soybean rust, Asian strain - USA (KY): 1st report 20051123.3404
Soybean rust, Asian strain - USA (multistate)(09) 20051101.3187
Soybean rust, Asian strain, kudzu control 20051006.2914
Soybean rust, Asian strain - USA (GA)(05) 20051005.2902
Soybean rust, Asian strain - USA (AL)(04) 20050917.2743
Soybean rust, Asian strain - USA (multistate)(08) 20050913.2711
Soybean rust, Asian strain - USA (multistate) (07) 20050909.2672
Soybean rust, Asian strain - USA (GA) (04) 20050905.2623
Soybean rust, Asian strain - USA (multistate)(04) 20050829.2556
Soybean rust, Asian strain - USA (GA)(03) 20050827.2531
Soybean rust, Asian strain - USA (AL)(03) 20050826.2528
Soybean rust, Asian strain - USA (AL)(02) 20050824.2496
Soybean rust, Asian strain - USA (SC) 20050818.2414
Soybean rust, Asian strain - USA (FL)(03) 20050815.2386
Soybean rust, Asian strain - USA (Multistate)(06) 20050808.2318
Soybean rust, Asian strain - USA (multistate)(05): susp. 20050806.2291
Soybean rust - USA (multistate)(04) 20050806.2289
Asian soybean rust, Asian strain - USA (multistate) 20050724.2133
Soybean rust, Asian strain - USA (AL) 20050715.2029
Soybean rust, Asian strain - USA (multistate)(03) 20050714.2005
Soybean rust, Asian strain - USA (multistate)(02): Florida 20050708.1938
Soybean rust, Asian strain - USA (multistate) 20050702.1868
Soybean rust, Asian strain - USA (LA) 20050624.1769
Soybean rust, Asian strain - USA (FL) (02) 20050620.1731
Soybean rust, Asian strain - USA (GA) 20050505.1245
Soybean rust, Asian strain - USA (GA) 20050429.1196
Soybean rust, Asian strain - USA (FL): 1st report 2005 20050309.0693]