RESEARCH ARTICLES/INFORMATION

Research Category: Soybean Disease and Insect Control Year: 2005 Researcher: Albert Tenuta and Terry Anderson Institution: OMAFRA AAFC Topic: Soybeab Rust Monitoring (Sentinel Plots), Identification, Management, and Education for Ontario. Funding: $138,000 Research Details: This project was funded by the CORD program. The threat of soybean rust has led to unparalleled international cooperation and partnerships and the comprehensive soybean rust “sentinel plot” monitoring program put in place by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and OMAFRA/OSG is one such example. Ontario’s involvement in this innovative network resulted in a series of soybean sentinel plots (31 in 2007, 38 in 2006 and 44 in 2005) being established across the soybean production area of southern Ontario (from Windsor to Ottawa). The sentinel plot program involves intensive scouting for soybean rust symptoms and field evaluations by the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (OMAFRA) in conjunction with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada and industry partners. The establishment of these plots allowed us also to survey for other soybean pests such as SCN, aphids and other diseases. The most important direct result of this project was the first Canadian detection of a plant infected with soybean rust which occurred on October 16, 2007 from plots on the University of Guelph Ridgetown Campus in Ridgetown, Ontario, Canada. This detection confirmed that the disease can travel and infect Ontario soybeans. The information collected from this North American “early warning system” is posted on the Ontario Soybean Growers website (www.soybean.on.ca) and the USDA soybean rust website (www.sbrusa.net). One of the primary functions of sentinel plot monitoring for soybean rust is to create a warning system for early disease detection in soybean production areas. This “early warning” sentinel plot system in conjunction with education, monitoring, spore traps, prediction models, fungicides give producers the tools or weapons needed to track and combat this destructive disease and limit yield losses. The sentinel plot system provides producers, extension, consultants and the soybean industry with an effective and successful decision support tool. This project proved to be very effective and sentinel plots were established with cooperators in all involved states and Ontario, Canada. Information obtained from this early warning system was used in Ontario recommendations “not to spray” for soybean rust in 2005, 2006 and 2007 since the risk was low and therefore, save producer dollars. Unfortunately, with the recent 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. Now that we know soybean rust can make it to Ontario and infect our crop, it will be even more critical for Ontario to continue to participate in the most comprehensive disease monitoring and forecasting program in North America. File: