Grainnet

Asian Soybean Rust was detected and confirmed for the first time on a soybean plant from a field in Ridgetown, ON by the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (OMAFRA) and Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) in Ottawa.

Over the past month, OMAFRA and AAFC conducted tests on sample soybean leaves that confirmed the disease has spread through wind-borne spores into Ontario from the U.S. Soybean rust can cause detrimental yield loss.

Fortunately, soybean plants in Ontario have either been harvested or are too mature for the disease to have an effect on the 2007 crop.

"This is the first time soybean rust has infected Canadian soybeans, however, it is too late in the growing year for the disease to affect soybean yields," says Albert Tenuta, Field Crop Plant Pathologist with OMAFRA.

"Researcher's can't predict how the disease will act in Canada's climate, but we do not expect this disease to over winter in Ontario."

Soybean rust, just like other rust pathogens requires a living host to survive, reproduce and over-winter.

It is unlikely that a winter host exists in Ontario or the northern U.S. since potential hosts lack green tissue during the winter months.

"With the current detection of rust in Ontario and those in northern Iowa, we may be seeing a pattern establishing which would see more frequent movement of Asian soybean rust into the northern soybean production areas of North America in the future," says Tenuta.

The risk of an outbreak during the next growing season will depend on wind patterns and the spread of airborne rust spores into the province.

"We knew soybean rust would eventually be introduced to Canada, and that it was only a matter of time," says Dale Petrie, General Manager of Ontario Soybean Growers.

"We are fortunate that soybean rust did not infect the crop until the fall, as a result it is unlikely that there was any impact on the 2007 crop."

The disease, common throughout Asia and South America, was discovered in fall 2004 in the U.S.

The fungus is not harmful to humans or animals, but it can have a crippling effect on soybean plants and yields.

Symptoms include small lesions on the lower leaves of the infected plant that increase in size and change from grey to tan or reddish brown on the undersides of the leaves.

Soybean rust can be managed with early detection and the use of fungicides.

The Ontario Soybean Rust Coalition is a group of key industry players -including government, growers, researchers, and chemical companies - committed to monitoring and minimizing the effects of soybean rust in Ontario.

For more information, call Albert Tenuta at 519-674-1617, Dale Petrie at 519-767-0212 , or Crosby Devitt at 519-767-6537.

See Related Websites/Articles:

• Ontario Soybean Rust Coalition

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