About Asian Soybean Rust Fungus

Recovery from Asian Soybean Rust

The occurrence of Asian soybean rust will have a significant impact on the production of soybeans in the United States. The impact on northern soybean growing areas is expected to be less severe than effects in the southern United States as the disease must re-infect the crop from inoculum coming from more southerly climates and regions. Growers can expect an increase in production costs related to fungicides and their application to protect the crop.

The best long-term strategy for minimizing the effects of soybean rust in the United States is in the development of resistant/tolerant varieties. There are thousands of plant lines of soybean in germplasm repositories, and screening for soybean resistance has been on-going for several years in other countries and in the United States in the containment facilities at the ARS Foreign Disease-Weed Science Research Unit in Fort Detrick, Maryland. However, the availability of cultivars with good resistance and other characteristics desired in soybean for commercial production is still five or more years away.

Fungicides have been shown to be effective in controlling soybean rust in Zimbabwe, South Africa and Brazil. With USDA assistance, several states are making an effort to obtain state quarantine exemptions for several fungicides.