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USDA soybean rust site now "PIPE" site for rust and aphids
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By Marilyn Cummins, Editor
StopSoybeanRust.com
5/2/2006 – The USDA public soybean rust Web site is now the “USDA Public PIPE Mapping Web site,” and it’s not just for rust anymore.
PIPE stands for the new Pest Information Platform for Extension and Education, the creation of which was foretold in late October, when the USDA announced renewed funding to expand and refine the soybean rust tracking effort -- and more.
The “and more” came to pass yesterday, when the platform's new pest-specific interface for soybean aphids and many new features and tools for the soybean-rust interface were added. That's why the site was down for a few hours early in the day.
Here's what we learned from our self-guided tour.
Now both soybean rust and soybean aphids will be tracked at
www.sbrusa.net, in a system and format with room to add more crops and more pests in the future. For now, the one category of host plants being monitored is called “legumes/kudzu,” which, of course, emphasizes soybeans as before.
The Web address stays the same: www.sbrusa.net; but “USDA Public PIPE Website” is what will show in your browser heading and lists.
RMA details insurance documentation; provides new report tool
Two new sections -- courtesy of the main funding source for the system and site this year, the Risk Management Agency -- are offered to help growers document their farming practices in context with state recommendations and gather information needed for crop insurance claims.
The first is the “Good Farming Practice” tool -– a fill-in, interactive report a grower can use to document both the state recommendations and the actions he/she took on particular fields on a particular date to control rust and/or aphids. No information is saved on the site; a grower or preparer must print or save it for their records.
The other is Insurance Docs, which lists 11 types of documents -– such as weather reports, written recommendations, product labels, and receipts -- the RMA says growers should get and keep to substantiate their practices and/or prepare a claim.
What else is new, where to start on the PIPE
“Getting Started” is the first place to head when you get to the new PIPE site – click on the small gray box in the upper left corner. There is so much new information and so many new tools on the site that the “Getting Started” documents print out as nearly five pages each, double-spaced -– one for rust, the other for aphids.
The first thing both tell you is to be sure to change the settings in any and all pop-up blockers on your computer, whether in your browser or in anti-virus/anti-spam programs. It gives details for how to be sure the system allows pop-ups for www2.sbrusa.net and www.sbrusa.net. The site depends heavily on pop-up boxes and features that open in new browser windows while the main page stays on your screen. (It's easy to get overrun with open windows, by the way.)
Highlights of the USDA PIPE site
We won’t repeat the whole “Getting Started” instructions here, but here are key changes, additions and tips from our first run through the PIPE:
To switch from rust view to aphid, use the second drop-box on the upper right to choose Soybean Rust or Soybean Aphid. There aren’t any observations or commentaries on the aphid maps yet, but you will find aphid-related links on the left and the new “Management Toolbox” on the right (more on that later.)
The “Getting Started” PDFs for rust and aphid outline the same navigation tools and are basically the same until you get to this heading on p. 3 of the documents: Soybean Rust (or Aphid) Interactive Maps - Map Description.
Aphid scouting will be tracked on a national map with a color scale that reports infestations as average number of aphids per plant from 0 to >500, keyed with colors as follows: white = not scouted; green = 0; blue = 1-39; yellow = 40-149; tan = 15-249; pink = 250-499 and purple = over 500.
A link under the map says “threshold” for aphid treatment is defined as 250 or more aphids occur per plant and approximately 80 percent of the field is infested and populations are increasing and plant growth stage is reproductive (i.e. flowering) in the R1 to R5 stage. Sequential scouting in the same field is necessary in order to determine if populations are increasing.
The “Guidelines – USA” link on the right of the aphid site lists national management guidelines on when to spray based on plant growth stage and pest threshold.
New (better) map tools. Navigation is easier now that USDA added the “state zoom tool,” which allows you to get to any state in only two clicks. You can either click on “state zoom” (magnifying glass with red word STATE behind it)above the center map and then on the state name in the immediate drop-down box, or click on the same “state zoom” and click the state on the map. You’ll see the state and its counties in the center map section, its commentary will open in a separate window, and any state-specific Web links and/or guidelines and tactics will be on the lower left and right.
There is also a shortcut to get to the state commentary window without changing the national map and information view -– click on the large question mark in the top tools (Query), then on a state.
Two state commentaries in one, with a new look. The state-specific information supplied by state specialists now combine soybean rust and soybean aphid in the same commentary, subdivided as: Crop Growth Stages; Observation and Outlook – Disease; Observation and Outlook – Insect; Scouting and Management - Disease; Scouting and Management – Insect. Each portion has its own “last modified” date, so you can know which part was updated when.
The GFP/Insurance Doc tools. As mentioned earlier, the RMA gives a detailed list of documentation to keep for insurance and offers the Good Farming Practice tool to aid in record-keeping. The GFP tool is accessible from either the link in the “Management Toolbox” or from any state commentary window. Remember not to block pop-ups, or it won’t work.
Page one of the GFP form also links to these soybean crop-stage images for reference.
New state commentary chronology. Need state commentaries/guidelines for a particular date or range of dates? The “Commentary Chron” link in the Management Toolbox lets you pick a state or states and a single date, or updates starting and ending on the dates of your choice. The resulting commentary page has a print option for your records.
The USDA's Cooperative State Research, Education and Extension Service; Risk Management Agency; and the Animal Plant Health Inspection Service have worked together to implement the system. CSREES manages its part of the system through its land-grant university partners, the Cooperative Extension System, the Regional Integrated Pest Management Centers, and the National Plant Diagnostic Network.
Comments/questions about PIPE?
If you have questions or comments about the USDA PIPE Mapping Web site and its features, write to Ask the Experts, and we'll track down answers and share your tips. Look for PIPE-site questions, answers, comments and updates in the Ask the Experts section of StopSoybeanRust.com.
Source: The USDA Pest Information Platform for Extension and Education (PIPE) Web site (www.sbrusa.net) and StopSoybeanRust.com archives.
For an easy way to stay informed, sign up for the weekly Bulletin e-mail newsletter from www.StopSoybeanRust.com. You also will receive our RUST FLASH e-mails alerting you to important breaking news as soon as it occurs. All are archived in Bulletins.
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