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Published on: 10/13/2005
Last Visited: 10/13/2005
Dr. Charles Curtis, a professor in the Department of Plant Pathology at The Ohio State University (Columbus, Ohio), worries that the public doesn,t know enough, especially when it comes to soybean rust, Phakopsora pachyrhizi, the Asian form of the fungus that was recently discovered in two plots at a Louisiana State Research Farm near Baton Rouge. [See related story, p. 14]
,The public knows very little,, he says. ,And I don,t even think the public pays any attention.We,ve been expecting it for sometime.It showed up in mid November.It rides the air currents and it can completely devastate a field.,
The university, Dr. Curtis says, is working with USDA in developing a national strategy and hopes USDA will raise awareness publicly to prevent an all out plant plague.
,I,m sure this is going to be on their plate,, Curtis adds, saying there are around 90 million hectares of soybean fields in the United States.