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Asian soybean rust found in southwest Arkansas, university warn
Arkansas University of Arkansas plant pathologists found Asian soybean rust, a serious yield-robbing disease, in a field of soybeans in Little River County on July 23. Left untreated, the disease can defoliate a crop in three weeks, causing a 50 percent or more yield loss. It's the biggest threat to the Arkansas soybean crop in years. Arkansas has about 2.9 million acres of soybeans. Drs. Scott Monfort and Cliff Coker, plant pathologists with the U of A Cooperative Extension Service, drove to southwest Arkansas after they heard a report that the disease had been found 100 miles away at Paris, Texas. He said they checked several fields and found the disease in one of them. "We found active rust pustules on the leaves of soybeans in the reproductive stage in the southeast part of Little River County," Monfort said. He said U of A plant experts had been expecting the disease to show up in Arkansas after it was discovered earlier in Louisiana and Texas. "We felt like it was coming, and we were hoping we'd catch it early," Monfort said. "It was just beginning, so it seems like we caught it at the right time. We're going to do some more searching." Joe Paul Stewart, Little River county agent, suspected the disease was coming his way. "Our weather has been coming out of Texas so I think everybody knew it was just a matter of time before it got here." For soybean growers in the extreme southwestern part of Arkansas--from the Texas, Oklahoma and Louisiana state lines west to El Dorado--the extension service is recommending that farmers apply fungicides to head off a possible infection of their crops. "We're stressing that anyone outside the area shouldn't apply fungicides," he said. The U of A is providing these recommendations to farmers in southwest Arkansas: --Soybean fields that are at Growth Stage R-1 to R-4 should be sprayed with a combination of a strobilurin and a triazole fungicide as soon as possible. These fields should be monitored closely and evaluated again in 10 days after the initial application. If active rust is found at that time, a second application of a triazole should be made. --From R-4 to R-6, the group recommends triazole only. --Soybean fields that are currently at or beyond Growth Stage R-6 are no longer vulnerable and shouldn't be sprayed. --Soybean fields that are vegetative (before bloom) shouldn't be sprayed, but should be scouted closely. If rust is present, a combination of a strobilurin and a triazole should be applied when they reach Growth Stage R-1. These fields should be monitored closely and evaluated again in 10 days after the initial application. If active rust is found at that time, a second application of a triazole should be made. --Soybeans in the remainder of the state should be monitored closely for rust, but shouldn't be sprayed with a fungicide at this time. Monfort said farmers should scout their fields and report any suspicious disease to their county agent, who'll help them make an identification and provide recommendations. The U of A will continue to provide updates and scouting reports several times a week to inform growers of potential movement of soybean rust in the state. Monfort said the U of A would get information about the soybean rust threat to farmers through Soybean Notes, a weekly e-mail newsletter; or by listening to the news media, calling their county extension office or calling the Mid-South Soybean Rust Hotline at 866-641-1847. Monfort can be reached at 870-659-0648, and Coker can be reached at 870-723-5519. For the problem in southwest Arkansas, the university is recommending Quadris, Headline, Folicur, Laredo, Domark, Topguard or Punch. The Cooperative Extension Service is part of the U of A Division of Agriculture. Date: 7/26/07
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