Manhattan ? Asian soybean rust, a fungus that can wipe out a field of soybeans if uncontrolled, has been found in a field in Kansas for the first time, the Kansas Department of Agriculture announced Friday.

Researchers from the state and Kansas State University have confirmed that a leaf sample from a soybean plant found at a sentinel plot in Montgomery County has the disease.

The fungus could cause problems with late-planted soybeans, leaving 300,000 acres to 400,000 acres potentially in danger, or about 10 percent to 15 percent of the state’s crop, said Kansas State University plant pathologist Doug Jardine.

The site where the positive sample was found is one of 20 locations in Kansas where the U.S. Department of Agriculture planted to monitor for the disease.

“Asian soybean rust’s arrival in Kansas was expected,” Kansas Secretary of Agriculture Adrian Polansky said in a written statement. “And we must continue to be vigilant scouting for this disease in the coming years to ensure we detect it early enough for growers to take action to protect their crops.”

Asian soybean rust is believed to have arrived in the U.S. from South America with Hurricane Ivan in 2004. The disease has been identified this year in fields from Florida to Texas and as far north as Mississippi and Kansas.

After soybean plants become infected, damage can usually be seen within 10 days, with masses of tan spores developing on the underside of leaves.