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Don't Get Complacent with Soybean Rust
By
Laura Skillman
PRINCETON, Ky., (June 13, 2007) – Three years after its first
appearance in the United States, soybean rust has not yet been
an issue for Kentucky farmers. But, that's no reason to let
their guard down, says a University of Kentucky plant
pathologist. In fact, not being vigilant could be devastating.
“Complacency is the worst thing that could happen,” said Don
Hershman, UK plant pathologist. “The disease is doing exactly
what we’d expect it to do, because it takes several years for it
to really get established in the south. You’ve got to realize
there’s kudzu everywhere, and that’s where it is going to
overwinter. What’s happening is every year more and more places
are getting infested, and it’s becoming endemic in those areas.”
So, as farmers are busy planting this year’s soybean crop,
scientists around the country are again watching to see if the
disease will spread from overwintering areas in the South into
the Midwest. In Kentucky, Hershman is overseeing the monitoring
of 15 soybean plots and seven kudzu patches for the disease as
part of a national sentinel plot network. The network organized
when the disease was discovered to be in the United States in
the fall of 2004.
This year rust has appeared in a kudzu patch in Louisiana nearly
two months earlier than in 2006. It is now in two counties in
Louisiana and one in Texas, so it is beginning to increase.
Knowing what’s happening in the middle of the country is
important because that’s where Kentucky’s weather patterns
frequently come through, Hershman said.
“The main thing is it needs to build up in significant levels in
some area, and that hasn’t happened yet. The weather had kept it
in check and the amount that overwinters sets the bar for the
year,” he said. “It really depends on what happens this next
month in Louisiana, Texas, Mississippi and Arkansas.
“We know once it is established somewhere, there are a lot of
spores waiting to blow into an area through a storm front,” he
said. “That’s what happened last September when a single storm
blew through Louisiana and covered about 1,500 miles with spores
in a weekend. It distributed them from Lexington to
Fayetteville, Ark.”
Last year, the disease arrived late in the growing season so it
caused no damage. Hershman’s point however, is that the disease
can move very quickly when there are spores to move.
“When you see the disease, it is pretty impressive. There’s
nothing like it,” he said. “It can cause total devastation. It’s
nothing to play with. We’ve learned a lot in the past couple of
years. We have a pretty good system of monitoring the weather
systems and disease activity. When the time comes to recommend
spraying, the recommendation will be made when the farmer still
has time, and they don’t need to do it within 24 hours or it’s
all over.”
To keep farmers up-to-date on rust, Hershman regularly updates
the Kentucky rust hotline 800-321-6771, sponsored by the
Kentucky Soybean Promotion Board; the
U.S. Department of Agriculture’s
rust Web site; and the
UK soybean rust Web
site.
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Contact: Don Hershman, 270-365-7541, ext. 215
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The UK College
of Agriculture, through its land-grant mission, reaches across
the commonwealth with teaching, research and extension
to enhance the lives of Kentuckians. |
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