Released June 9, 2009
BROOKINGS, S.D. -- Soybean rust has not emerged in South Dakota, but producers are reminded that this potentially catastrophic disease is still a possibility.
That's according to South Dakota Cooperative Extension Plant Pathology Specialist Larry Osborne. He said management plans and early warning detection systems are in place to keep the impact of the disease at a minimum.
"It is hard to scout for because we have not seen much of it, but we must remain vigilant," said Osborne. "It's come as far north as Nebraska, and we are learning that it's not as devastating a disease in the Upper Midwest as we had maybe feared."
But Osborne said fields where it has struck have had dramatically lower yields. Soybean rust was first reported in the U.S. in 2004, and systems to detect and manage it have developed since.
"It's important for producers to pay attention to reports about soybean rust, and we spread the word through our sentinel plot monitoring system in South Dakota and throughout most of the United States' soybean growing regions," said Osborne. "We also have management techniques that allow us to combat the disease, such as foliar fungicides. We have a good arsenal in our toolbox to face the disease."
Through the South Dakota Soybean Research and Promotion Council, the North Central Soybean Research Program, and other sources, Osborne said a good early warning system is in place.
"We have best management practices on the IPM PIPE site and also our SDSU Plant Health Web site. These tools help us battle the disease if and when it does arrive in South Dakota," Osborne said. "We can really control this thing, so it's not something to be feared, but it is something to be monitored and a disease for which we must keep our eyes open."
The Integrated Pest Management PIPE Web site is available at this link: http://www.ipmpipe.org/.
For more information, contact Osborne at (605) 688-5543, or e-mail him at Lawrence.Osborne@sdstate.edu.
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http://agbionews.sdstate.edu/story.cfm?id=4741
Source: Lawrence Osborne, (605) 688-5543
Writer: Jarett Bies, (605) 688-4642, Jarett.Bies@sdstate.edu
