MORDEN, Man. Ñ Asian soybean rust, a yield-robbing disease that crept into the continental United States last year, is not expected to threaten Manitoba soybean growers this year.
“It may actually get this far north, but will not be an issue this year,” said Manitoba Agriculture plant pathologist David Kaminski during a recent bean symposium in Morden.
“We’ll have a chance to see the experience they have with it in the States.”
Alarm bells sounded in the U.S. late last fall when Asian soybean rust was confirmed in Louisiana.
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The disease thrives in hot, wet areas and is capable of causing severe crop losses, which was demonstrated in Brazilian crops a year earlier.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture eventually found the disease in nine American states. It blamed hurricanes for blowing rust spores northward from infected fields in South America.
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency concluded last year that the disease could reach Canada, but its effects would be of little or no economic consequence in most years.
Kaminski presented the findings of that assessment at the bean symposium and said the CFIA’s conclusions still hold true.
“Things have not changed even with the arrival of the rust in continental North America.”
He said fungicides can help control soybean rust. Three have been registered in Canada and the registration of a fourth is pending. Kaminski said edible beans can also be a host for Asian soybean rust, but the effects on that crop are typically less severe.
