Soybean rust confirmed in 21 Arkansas counties

Arkansas growers are seeing Asian soybean rust spread at a faster and more damaging rate than they have seen in past years.

The fungus has been confirmed in 21 of the 35 Arkansas counties that produce soybeans, though the spread is likely greater, officials said Tuesday. Rain that has been over the state for days has helped the disease thrive and spread. The fungus travels on storm winds and flourishes in wet conditions.

Rain is forecast to continue through late Thursday in Arkansas, and growers cant spray fungicide without dry weather.

About 3 million acres are planted with soybeans in Arkansas, and the crop is worth about $1 billion. Because of extended foul weather in the spring, about 25 percent of the crop was planted after June 15, which means that portion of the crop is still maturing and is susceptible to damage from the fungus, officials said.

Jeremy Ross, extension soybean agronomist for the University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture, said rust has probably spread to all Arkansas counties where the crop is grown.

"We just havent found it yet," he said. "Just a matter of picking the right field" to test, he said.

Other states where Asian soybean rust has been found this year, in varying degrees, include Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, Tennessee and Texas, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Soybean rust, which arrived in the U.S. in 2004, causes crop loss due to premature defoliation, fewer seeds per pod and fewer filled pods per plant. Plants with the fungus exhibit cone-shaped pustules that erupt with spores of a light tan color, hence the rust in the name.