WEST LAFAYETTE — Indiana is at greater risk for developing soybean rust this year than in the past two years, said a Purdue University expert.

Plant pathologists reported finding soybean rust 53 days earlier this year than last on kudzu in southern Louisiana.

"This is not good news for Indiana soybean growers because it opens the

window of time for rust to develop in the Hoosier state," said Greg Shaner, Purdue Extension soybean rust specialist.

Soybean rust first appeared in Indiana last year, but it arrived in October - too late to damage the crop, Shaner said. If the rust had arrived earlier in the growing season, as it threatens to do this year, it could have resulted in yield losses.

It is still too early to predict the likelihood and potential intensity of soybean rust in Indiana this year, but the early breakout has

researchers on the lookout. Timing is important because the soybean plant is most vulnerable in the flowering stage, which occurs in late June and early July.

"To the best of our knowledge all of our soybean varieties are susceptible to rust, and the only way to control it is to use a fungicide," Shaner said.

If soybean rust is found in Indiana, all the agricultural and natural

resources Extension educators will be notified, and efforts will be made to get information to growers.

One thing growers can do to prepare is to check with their local chemical dealer and make sure a fungicide will be available in late July or early August, if needed. However, Shaner does not believe there is a need to stockpile fungicides.

Soybean rust overwinters in Florida and along the Gulf Coast, and the

spores migrate north as the weather warms, drifting on the wind like smoke from a smokestack.

"Given the right weather conditions, soybean rust can travel up to 500

miles in two or three days," Shaner said.