The yield-cutting soyabean rust was found in 335 counties in 19 states during 2007, the highest total since the fungus was discovered in the continental United States three years ago, the Agriculture Department said on Monday.
The latest case of soyabean rust, which can cut yields by up to 80 percent on untreated crops, was found in Monroe County in central Georgia. The 2007 total far exceeded previous annual tallies. In 2006, the fungus was found in 274 counties in 15 states and it was detected in 138 counties in nine states in 2005.
This year, the fungus made its most significant presence in the Midwest, the heartland for US soyabean production, with multiple findings in the two largest US soyabean producing states of Iowa and Illinois.
USDA said on its Web site used to monitor the disease that it will continue to watch for soyabean rust on kudzu, a fast-growing vine common in the South, throughout the winter.
In 2007, soyabean rust has been found in 19 States and 335 US counties including 40 counties in Alabama, 33 counties in Arkansas, 24 counties in Florida, 52 counties in Georgia, four counties in Illinois, one county in Indiana, 14 counties in Iowa, nine counties in Kansas, three counties in Kentucky, 21 parishes in Louisiana, 26 counties in Mississippi, 37 counties in Missouri, four counties in Nebraska, six counties in North Carolina, 12 counties in Oklahoma, seven counties in South Carolina, seven counties in Tennessee, 26 counties in Texas and nine counties in Virginia.
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