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Experts Find Soy Rust in Florida Field, First in 2005 |
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| USA: March 2, 2005 | ||
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WASHINGTON - Florida scientists have found highly contagious soybean rust disease in a field in Pasco County, the first detection of the disease this year, the University of Florida said on Tuesday.
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"The most recent detection of soybean rust in Florida is a find Feb. 23 on overwintered foliage of kudzu in Dade City, Pasco County," the university said on its soybean rust Web site. "That is the most southerly find so far in Florida." Kudzu is a widespread weed in the Southeastern United States. Asian soybean rust, which can slash soybean crop production by up to 80 percent, was discovered in the United States for the first time last year. The fungus, which does not harm humans, infected fields in nine southern states in 2004. The US Agriculture Department could not immediately confirm the finding. The USDA said last week that farmers in the southern United States would likely devote fewer acres to soybeans this year, switching to feed grains and cotton, because of soybean rust fears. Experts believe the disease was blown from South America into the US Gulf Coast by Hurricane Ivan last year. The disease is characterized by reddish brown lesions on soybean plants that make them shed their leaves. It spread from Asia to Africa and Latin America, devastating crops in many countries. Farmers in Brazil, where soybean rust has been raging since 2001, have lost billions of dollars due to lost crops and fungicide costs. Last year, soybean rust was found in Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, South Carolina and Tennessee.
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REUTERS NEWS SERVICE
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