www.countryworldnews.com/Editorial/ETX/2007/et0208rust. -
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Published on: 2/8/2007
Last Visited: 4/20/2007
FEB. 8, 2007 , Northeast Texas farmers don't have much reason to worry about soybean rust, according to Dr. Kevin Ong, Extension pathologist and speaker at a recent Delta County crops meeting.
Ong said despite the fact that Texas has previously seen cases of Asian soybean rust, there is little chance growers in Northeast Texas will have to worry any time soon.
"We don't think soybean rust will be a problem in the area, at least for a few years," Ong said.Because of the early-maturing varieties planted in Northeast Texas, he said if an outbreak did occur, most likely, the growing season in the Red River area would be through.
Still, he said, that does not mean that producers should forget about the disease all together.
He noted that soybean rust was originally brought to the United States in 2004, after wind-producing Hurricane Ivan.Those hurricane winds, he said, are credited with blowing soybean rust into 10 states.
"This particular fungus spore is very, very tied in with weather conditions, as far as how it's transmitted," he explained.
He added that if the disease flourished early in the growing season in southern portions of the state, there is chance it could reach Northeast Texas in time to do some damage.
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"The spore will germinate with that leaf wetness, then it directly penetrates the cell - it will just punch right through," said Ong.
Five to eight days later, pustules will appear, and in less than two weeks, urediniospores are released into the atmosphere and spread the disease.
If an outbreak occurs in areas likely to carry the disease to Northeast Texas, Ong said producers have a few options to minimize loss.
The first, he said, is through the use of "fairly expensive" fungicides.
"There is no economic threshold," he said of the disease."If you find it, you spray."
Ong recommended alternating fungicide products.He said information about soybean rust and treatment options is available at: www.ipmcenters.org.
In addition, he said scouting for the disease can minimize the impact the disease might have by giving growers time to spray and protect the rest of their field.
He suggested picking 100 leaves from the top, mid, and bottom canopy every few weeks.If soybean rust is found, he suggested spraying the field quickly to attempt to stop the disease from spreading.
"What you're doing really is protecting the rest of the field," he explained.Also, he said, producers should act quickly if pustules are already present because that indicates the spores have been on the property for at least a week, and are, or are preparing to, release urediniospores into the atmosphere.But, it is not too late to spray, he stressed, it just needs to be done quickly.
He recommended that persons suspecting they might have soybean rust contact their county Extension agent and send samples (placed in a wet paper towel inside several sealed baggies) to the lab in College Station.
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