"I'm fairly certain most states have some level of soybean rust. But most of the time, it has been really late when we find it, it is at low levels, and it's not enough to cause much damage."

Since early September, Asian soybean rust has been very active in Arkansas. The weather — a long string of rainy, cloudy days — has been “perfect” for disease to develop, says Rick Cartwright, Extension plant pathologist with the University of Arkansas.

OMAHA (DTN) -- If history repeats itself, the prospect for a soybean rust outbreak in the Midwest remains small, even though soybean development is behind schedule and reports of rust in the South and in Texas are showing up.

Thus far in 2009, soybean rust has been observed in five states and 21 counties in the United States and in two states and five municipalities in Mexico. There has been a flurry of soybean rust activity in the last two weeks, with new finds confirmed in Louisiana, Alabama, Georgia, and Florida. Some of these finds were on soybean and others on kudzu.

Nearly a week after Asian soybean rust was located in south Louisiana and Alabama soybeans, the fungal disease hadn’t been found elsewhere. It was not from lack of looking, though.

Soybean rust is starting to catch the attention of plant pathologists this year. If you peruse the USDA ipmPIPE Soybean Rust Web site, the distribution of soybean rust may not appear much different than in years past. Like before, soybean rust has survived the winter in the South on kudzu, this year in Alabama, Florida, Georgia and Louisiana.

From the Delta Farm Press:

Asian soybean rust has been found in a soybean sentinel plot maintained by agricultural consultant Blaine Viator in St. Martin Parish near Coteau, La., according to LSU AgCenter plant pathologist Clayton Hollier.

OMAHA (DTN) -- Since early September, the USDA soybean rust Web site has sent out multiple alerts on Asian soybean rust across the south from Texas to Florida and north to the Corn Belt.