Yesterday, soybean rust was confirmed on soybeans from a sentinel plot in Rapides Parish, Louisiana.

This is the first report of rust on soybeans in Louisiana for the 2006 season.

Currently rust has been found on this year’s soybeans in six different counties in four states(AL,FL,GA,LA), the rest of the finds have been on kudzu. A total of 26 counties have reported rust this year and include five in Alabama, 12 in Florida, five in Georgia, three in Louisiana, and one in Texas.

Spore trapping continues throughout the U.S. using both active and passive traps. Any positive spore trap information does not imply infection has taken place and plant samples are used exclusively for recording positive rust occurrence.

Dry to very dry conditions have prevailed in the spore source regions and movement to new areas has been slow.