In mid-March, Asian soybean rust was identified on soybeans from a bin located in Iowa. Iowa State University (ISU) says that soybean rust was “conclusively identified on soybean plant tissue” from soybeans produced in 2006. ISU reports that the rust fungus found on the plant tissue does not pose a risk for infection this year because the spores and fungus have died in the winter without the green leaf tissue it needs to survive.

Iowa Department of Agriculture Secretary Bill Northley urges growers not to overreact to the finding because it doesn’t guarantee that the disease will infect Iowa this year. Instead, he says, growers should monitor conditions that favor the disease and not take costly measures unnecessarily.

For more information, visit www.soybeanrust.info.