Dealer & Applicator and Greenbook.net Associate Publisher Greg Vincent reported from Brazil as he and 27 other editors, American Soybean Association leaders, agronomists and research scientists traveled and learned in the heart of soybean -- and soybean-rust -- territory, March 3-10, 2005.
Explore links to his reports and photos (below), plus see Agriculture Online coverage from the Successful Farming Brazil Crop Tour, which was sponsored by Bayer CropScience with support from the American Soybean Association. All photos and reports on this page are credit Dealer & Applicator, except where otherwise noted.
3/11/2005 -- Pedro Schneider, a crop consultant from the northern area of the Mato Grosso state in Brazil, says Asian soybean rust is a disease that must be taken seriously by farmers. He is confident the disease can be managed, but he says U.S. growers must be ready for it and use the three key rules of rust management:
1. Monitor your fields.
2.
Apply fungicides in a timely manner.
3.
Ensure you get good coverage on the entire plant. Question-and-answer session with Schneider: Mato Grosso agronomy consultant tells his customers: “Rust is real”
3/8/2005 -- Imagine the cloud of dust after hitting the end rows of a soybean field with a stick in July. That’s how severe the rust activity was in a field North of Rondonopolis, Brazil, in the Mato Grosso state. Story: Questions of spread and resilience
3/8/2005 -- Fungicide treatment is required first and foremost to battle the presence of Asian soybean rust. But unless those treatments are made in time and at optimal intervals, losses can still be substantial. Story: Two plots, two stories
3/8/2005 -- Proper timing and adequate coverage is required for more than just protecting the field in question. It’s also about being a good neighbor, since the disease will continue to sporulate and release new spores into the air if it’s not properly treated. Story: Will U.S. growers cover all plants, acres?
3/8/2005 -- U.S. farmers can take heart that they aren't the only producers in the world who undergo tough times. Their Brazilian counterparts face many challenges at the moment, as Gil Gullickson, crops technology editor of Successful Farming, reports from the rough roads and rusty fields of Brazil. Brazil's farmers face tough times
3/7/2005 -- "This isn't going to be easy," says Successful Farming Crops Technology Editor Gil Gullickson after his first full day of observing rust management practices in Brazil. Read his reports on the similarities and differences between Brazil and the United States, plus the whys and hows of preventive treatments for rust. Sunday: Tough Asian rust challenges ahead Saturday: Talking pests and managing rust
Learning from experience:3/6/2005 -- Fabian Victor Siqueri, an agronomist with the Mato Grosso Foundation in the Mato Grosso state of Brazil, has conducted extensive studies on Asian soybean rust since it first entered the country in 2001. Siqueri says soybean rust is a dangerous disease for soybean producers, but that with proper management, it can be controlled. More of the story.
3/6/2005 -- Rust can be deceiving unless a field is properly scouted and monitored. A drive-by look at a field is not adequate scouting.
This photo is of a field that is too infected with rust to be treated and saved. Story: Scout plants, not the field
3/6/2005 -- One plant, many levels of infestation.These three leaves from the same plant show, from left, no soybean rust infestation, 60 percent infestation and 100 percent infestation.
More
3/6/2005 -- It takes over quickly.Soybean rust wastes no time in infesting a plant. The leaf on the left above was infected about two or three days before the photo was taken. The leaf on the right has been infected for about seven or eight days. The diseased plant will probably shed it within another two to three days.
3/6/2005 -- Their first look at rust. American Soybean Association (ASA) President Neal Bredehoeft and ASA Vice President Rick Ostlie get their first look at Asian soybean rust in a field in Brazil. More
3/6/2005 -- Get up-close and personal. How soybean rust appears under a magnifying lens, a required tool for identifying rust.
Read more about proper I.D. and a way to incubate a sample when in doubt. These two photographs courtesy of Ron Mortensen, Bob Streit, Michael McNeill and David Harms.
3/7/2005 -- Act early, act fast to fend off rust losses
"Early and fast treatment of the soybean crop is essential when rust is active in your region. By that I mean treating when rust is present in an area with a 200-mile radius from your fields," says Mike McNeill, agronomist, Ag Advisory, Ltd. Read this initial Brazil report from tour member Ron Mortensen.
