Jim Kurle
Soybean Pathologist
University of Minnesota
2005 Rust Watch
| Date | Title |
| 8/15/05 | Rust Watch - Audio - text |
| 7/29/05 | Rust Watch - Audio |
| 7/7/05 | Rust Watch - Audio |
| 6/28/05 | Rust Watch - Audio |
| 6/3/05 | Rust Watch - Audio |
| 5/25/05 | Rust Watch - Audio - text |
| 5/20/05 | Rust Watch - Audio - text |
| 5/5/05 | Rust Watch - Audio - text |
| 4/15/05 | |
| 3/31/05 | Rust Watch - text |
| 3/23/05 | Rust Watch - Audio |
| 3/11/05 | Rust Watch - text |
As we approach the 2005 growing season, farmers face the new threat of soybean rust. To effectively respond, farmers need reliable information and regular updates. With that need in mind, the University of Minnesota, the Minnesota Soybean Research and Promotion Council and the Minnesota Department of Agriculture are teaming up to offer a new feature called "Rust Watch."
Rust Watch is a public service announcement authored by U of M Soybean Pathologist Jim Kurle and distributed by MDA. It will be produced twice a month. If rust becomes an imminent threat to Minnesota, the frequency may increase to weekly.
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The PSA is also on the MDA website at www.mda.state.mn.us. If you have questions or comments (including technical concerns or suggestions) about this feature, please contact at 651-297-1629. For more about soybean rust, please visit the MDA website at www.mda.state.mn.us, the U of M site at www.soybeans.umn.edu/crop/diseases/soybeanrust.htm or the USDA's updated soybean rust site at www.usda.gov/soybeanrust.
World-renowned soybean rust expert Dr. Tadashi Yorinori recently paid a visit to Minnesota, and his message was clear: Midwest farmers cannot afford to become complacent about this serious disease just because it has not been a problem this year.
Yorinori has worked on soybean diseases in Brazil since 1970. He advised Minnesota farmers to not let their guard down in 2006 just because there hasn't been a major rust infestation so far in 2005. After all, he said, rust was not a major threat to soybeans the first few years in South America. It took time to build and spread. The same thing may happen in the United States.
So what does the future hold for soybean rust in the U.S.? I have mentioned before that every year will be different for Minnesota producers. We may see it in 2006, or we may not see it for years. It depends largely on weather conditions here and in states to our south. Factors that would contribute to an outbreak here would include:
- Early spore buildup in states such as Louisiana, Mississippi, and Arkansas;
- Winds and storms that move the rust spores north;
- The right weather conditions to support rust once spores arrive in Minnesota (wet canopy, correct temperatures, etc.). Conditions that support white mold are similar to conditions that would support soybean rust.
As for our soybean rust prevention efforts, Yorinori stressed the importance of continuing our sentinel plots. They have served very well as an early warning system in Brazil, and will be a valuable tool to U.S. farmers in managing this disease. He also cited a need for more research on rust management under growing conditions in the Upper Midwest.
Yorinori's advice for farmers includes:
- Scout fields weekly, and step up your scouting as the canopy closes. Be sure to focus on areas that would be most likely to have disease;
- Collect leaves from the lower third of the plant and check for rust lesions;
- Pay attention to sentinel plot reports across the country;
- Learn to identify diseases already present in Minnesota so you can more easily differentiate them from rust;
- Work with First Detectors to submit any suspect samples; and
- If rust is detected, prompt and effective spray applications will be critical. Coverage in the bottom third of the canopy is essential.
The cold and wet start to the 2005 growing season is a powerful reminder of the role weather plays in crop production. Soybean rust, perhaps more than most crop diseases, is weather dependent. We know from experience in other countries that in one growing season, weather conditions can help rust sweep across huge areas of a continent. We also know that in a season with slightly different conditions, rust can be limited to a much smaller area.
Scientists can use this knowledge to predict how various weather patterns might influence the spread of rust. For example, I recently had the opportunity to work with computer models simulating the spread of soybean rust in the United States during recent growing seasons. In 2004, the models showed that weather conditions would have allowed the disease to reach Minnesota in time to cause us problems. In contrast, the models indicated that 2003 weather conditions would have been unfavorable for the development of soybean rust.
It's hard to know what to expect from the weather or from soybean rust. Fortunately, the National Plant Disease Forecast Center has rolled out a new website at www.ces.ncsu.edu/depts/pp/soybeanrust. On this site, farmers can get updated weather forecasts along with commentary on how conditions may make the outbreak of soybean rust more likely or less likely in a given area. Farmers can get the same information by calling toll-free at 1-888-835-2583.
As a complement to this site, farmers may want to visit the U.S. Department of Agriculture's soybean rust site at www.sbrusa.net. Here, farmers will find recommendations specific to their state and maps showing where rust has been detected, where scouting for soybean rust is recommended, and management recommendations specific for their state.
This information is helpful enough right now, but it will be absolutely vital come July and August, when farmers' ability to prevent major crop damage may depend on precise timing of their fungicide applications.
When it comes to controlling soybean rust, one of the toughest and most important tasks will be finding and recognizing it in time. In its early stages rust can be easily mistaken for other diseases and by the time the damage is obvious, it may be too late to do much about it.
To help farmers quickly tell potential rust infestations from other conditions, the University of Minnesota and the Minnesota Department of Agriculture have teamed up to recruit and train a statewide network of soybean rust "first detectors." The first detectors will be standing by throughout the summer to help Minnesota farmers determine whether their fields have rust.
So far, nearly 140 volunteers from around the state have been recruited and trained on how to spot soybean rust in the early stages. The idea is that these first detectors will serve as official contacts for farmers who think they may have found soybean rust in their fields. Upon being contacted by a farmer, the first detector will conduct a preliminary examination of plant samples to determine if they should be sent in to the University of Minnesota laboratory for further diagnosis.
These
first detectors are recruited from a pool of qualified ag professionals that
includes crop consultants, field scouts, MDA and U of M faculty and staff,
and staff at seed companies, ag retail dealers, ag co-ops and other industry
businesses or organizations. To be qualified for selection as a first detector,
volunteers must hold certification as
a certified crop advisor, certified professional crop consultant, certified
professional agronomist, ARCPAC, certified professional crop specialist or
scientist, or similar certification. The program is coordinated by U of M
Extension Service Coordinator Dean Herzfeld.
For more information about the first detector program and details on how to contact your local first detector this summer, visit the U of M Extension Service website at www.soybeans.umn.edu.
One common question about soybean rust is how crop insurers will handle crop losses caused by the disease. The good news is that soybean rust damage is covered by federal crop insurance, but there's an important catch: to maintain eligibility, soybean producers must protect their crop by using good farming practices.
What does "good farming practices" mean? According to the USDA Risk Management Agency, it is defined as any practice that "agricultural experts agree * will allow the crop to make normal progress toward maturity and produce at least the yield used to determine the production guarantee." USDA also says "failure to purchase and apply adequate control measures due to economic reasons is not an insurable cause of loss. Producers must be knowledgeable of any pending outbreaks and the control methods recommended by local agricultural experts."
Should local crops become infected, USDA recommends that producers keep a detailed record of the date rust is discovered, any recommendations from local experts, and any actions taken to control the disease.
Right now is a good time to put together a rust risk management action plan. The first step is to make contact with local extension and crop consulting experts and make sure you have a way to share information with them during the season. A second step is to put together a log in which you will record the times, dates and important details of all major rust news items, the recommendations you receive from local experts, and the actions you take. The third step is to develop a plan for deciding how and when to take preventive actions.
If and when rust arrives and you start making fungicide applications, make a point to log the applications in detail. If you are not able to treat rust-infected fields due to weather conditions or fungicide shortages, you will need to record that as well. With a good log in place, it should be much easier for you to ensure that you receive any reimbursement you have coming to you.
Despite all the soybean rust information circulating in the farm community, no one knows exactly how the disease will behave in North America.
Because rust is so easily spread on the wind, scientists did not dare to bring it to North America in the past to study it under our growing conditions. As a result, our experience is confined to computer models and observations from South America.
That's a significant handicap, because wind patterns, humidity and other environmental factors that influence rust spread vary widely from continent to continent. Also, there are some important differences in how soybeans are grown in the U.S. compared to Brazil or other parts of the world.
South America's main soybean regions are tropical or subtropical, with a consistent warm and moist climate that fungal diseases love. In contrast, North America's main soybean regions are temperate. We have freezing winters, which push the fungus back to all but the most southern reaches of the Gulf Coast states. Then, of course, we have summers with heat and moisture levels that can vary greatly from week to week.
Current fungicide recommendations for North American farmers are based
on fungicide studies from South America, where soybean development can be quite
different. There, soybeans are very "determinant," which
means that the plants produce most of their leaves and grow to their mature
height before flowering. In Minnesota, soybeans flower very early in the season
and continue to produce leaves and increase in height throughout pod and seed
growth and development. This difference makes it difficult for experts to develop
a clear-cut set of rust management recommendations.
How can a Minnesota farmer deal with this uncertainty? Your best bet is to stay on top of developments by keeping up with the farm news and getting regular updates on the U.S. Department of Agriculture's excellent soybean rust website at www.usda.gov/soybeanrust.
In a business that already has more than its share of uncertainties, farmers face yet another wild card this summer in the form of soybean rust.
Aside from the fact that rust is present around the world and is therefore not expected to impact U.S. exports, there aren’t a whole lot of sure things. How fast will rust move north? How bad will it infect crops? Will it arrive in Minnesota in time to impact yields? What will happen in the markets? No one can say.
What we do know is that rust has the potential to spread quickly on the wind, and under the right conditions it can cause serious yield losses. That’s why farmers looking to grow soybeans in 2005 need to have a plan in place for dealing with rust, and for monitoring its spread during the season.
To help farmers in that effort, the University of Minnesota, the Minnesota Department of Agriculture and the Minnesota Soybean Research and Promotion Council have created a partnership to provide farmers with reliable, up-to-date information so they can effectively manage soybean rust in 2005 and beyond.
Each organization has rust information on its website, and starting this spring, we will be joining a multi-state monitoring system that will provide nationwide data about the spread of rust from state to state. Through this regular column, we will also be getting out the word in the farm media.
In the meantime, farmers should be polishing up their own individualized plans to dealing with rust. For starters, this means contacting your crop insurance provider to make sure you are clear about your coverage for rust-related losses, and your obligations related to that coverage. It also means educating yourself about the signs of rust and how to scout your fields for it. Finally, it means finding several good sources of rust information, and checking with them regularly. Several good options for information on the web include:
U.S. Department of Agriculture
http://www.aphis.usda.gov/lpa/issues/sbr/sbr.html
Minnesota Department of Agriculture
http://www.mda.state.mn.us/invasives/soybeanrust/default.htm
University of Minnesota
http://www.soybeans.umn.edu/crop/diseases/soybeanrust.htm
The Plant Management Network
http://www.plantmanagementnetwork.org/infocenter/
topic/soybeanrust/
American Soybean Association
http://www.soygrowers.com/
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URL: http://www.soybeans.umn.edu/resources/news/news_rustwatch_2005.htm
Last Modified 8/19/05 by:
Sarah Jameson-Jones
Web Designer/Developer
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