University of Illinois Extension - Henderson/ Mercer/ Warren Unit News Release
News Release
Soybean Rust Confirmed in McDonough County
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 15, 2009
On Tuesday October 6th, soybean rust (SBR) was reported and confirmed on soybean in McDonough County in Illinois. Anna Lewis, an assistant to Dr. Loretta Ortiz-Ribbing, University of Illinois Extension Specialist in Macomb, collected the suspect leaves while monitoring a soybean field near the Soybean Rust Sentinel Plot located on the Western Illinois University Agriculture Field Laboratory. The finding was reported on the Integrated Pest Management PIPE website, which is used to monitor movement of this pathogen within North America.
This is the fourth year in a row that soybean rust has been found in Illinois and it is the second time that it has been reported in McDonough County. Soybean rust was first found in McDonough County on October 24, 2007, according to Ortiz-Ribbing.
Earlier this season, there was concern that late planted soybeans might be more vulnerable if they were not past the R5 growth stage when the rust pathogen moved into our area. At the moment however, a greater concern for the soybean crop is the cold weather. Right now, fungicide treatments for soybean rust are not recommended in Illinois, because most soybeans are mature or at a point in their development and growth stage past the time where soybean rust can cause economic yield loss. Soybean plants at growth stages R1 to R5 are the only ones at risk of yield loss from SBR.
The fungal organism that causes soybean rust does not survive the winter in Illinois. The spores of this pathogen have to travel into the Midwest every season on air currents that move up from the Southern United States where the disease organism can survive the winter.
You can follow the movement of soybean rust and obtain more information by visiting the Pest Information Platform for Extension and Education (PIPE) website located at http://sbr.ipmpipe.org. Updated management guidelines are also available in the "management toolbox" located in the lower right-hand corner of the main page.
Source: Loretta Ortiz-Ribbing, Macomb Extension Center, (309)836-8366, ortizrib@illinois.edu
Henderson/ Mercer/ Warren Unit
1000 North Main Street
P.O. Box 227
Monmouth, IL 61462-0227
Phone: 309-734-5161 FAX: 309-734-5532 warren_co@extension.uiuc.edu
Contact Us
For more information, please contact:
Henderson/ Mercer/ Warren Unit
1000 North Main Street
P.O. Box 227
Monmouth, IL 61462-0227
Phone: 309-734-5161 FAX: 309-734-5532 warren_co@extension.uiuc.edu
