WOODVILLE -- Scouts with the Mississippi State University Extension Service found Asian soybean rust on kudzu in Mississippi July 12 in Wilkinson County.

As of July 13, no soybean rust has been found on soybeans in any field in Mississippi, but recent rains across the state created ideal conditions for the fungus.

“We found rust in two spots of kudzu between Woodville and Fort Adams. It ranged from light to heavy depending on where you were in the kudzu,” said Billy Moore, Extension plant pathologist emeritus and head of the soybean rust scouting team. “We have not found it yet on soybeans.”

The team scouted extensively in Wilkinson, Adams, Jefferson and Claiborne counties the day they found rust. They moved north July 13 to Warren County, and finding none there, were moving back south to search again.

“If there is a leapfrog situation and the rust moves around the area, we want to catch it as soon as possible,” Moore said.

The team scouting for rust walks miles each day looking for signs of the disease in soybeans and kudzu, an alternate host for the fungus. In addition to Moore, the team is composed of Tom Allen, Extension plant pathologist at the Delta Research and Extension Center in Stoneville; and others from the soybean industry and retired Extension agents.

“The more eyes we have out here looking for it, the less chance we have of missing it,” Moore said.

Louisiana has soybean rust in kudzu and in soybean fields, both production and sentinel plots. Sentinel plots were planted very early to provide an early warning of rust’s presence. Growers with fields in Adams, Franklin, Wilkinson and Amite counties were urged in late June to begin spraying their soybean fields with strobilurin and a triazole to prevent rust and to battle other late-season diseases.

For regular updates on the soybean rust situation in Mississippi, call the soybean rust hotline at (866) 641-1847.

Contact: Dr. Billy Moore, (662) 325-3139