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Producers get answers to soybean rust questions As Iowa soybean producers prepare for the 2005 crop season, Asian soybean rust has been the hottest topic of discussion at Iowa State University Extension crop meetings around the state. To address producer concerns and questions, the Iowa soybean rust team members have been educating themselves and developing educational materials for producers. Recently, the team produced a special issue of ISU Extension’s Integrated Crop Management Newsletter. The 24-page publication contains the most current information about the disease, the likelihood it will reach Iowa in 2005 and management options should the disease arrive this year. A copy of the special issue is available on the Iowa soybean rust team Web site (www.soybeanrust.info). In February, 10 ISU Extension specialists traveled to Brazil to learn more about the disease and how to identify it in its earliest stages. They spent a week visiting researchers and inspecting infected fields to see the disease firsthand. Federal law requires that the USDA confirm the first report of this disease in each state. The multi-tier Iowa Fast Track System was developed to expedite this process. About 500 specially-trained Iowa crop professionals and ISU Extension staff will examine suspected plant samples and then forward suspect samples to the ISU Plant Disease Clinic and USDA testing laboratory for confirmation. In March, the team offered
a two-hour video program to answer soybean farmers’ questions
about the disease. More than 60 ISU Extension county offices offered
the program to local producers. It also
was available via satellite and on the Web to anyone in the United
States
interested
in viewing it. A
copy of the program is available at www.extension.iastate.edu/webcast/. |
The Extension Connection is a quarterly publication of Iowa State University Extension. Laura Sternweis, editor, lsternwe@iastate.edu Nondiscrimination statement and information disclosures Last update:April 2005
* Plant-based resources build Iowa's bioeconomy * Extension increases effort to help Iowans slim down * Learning at Lakeside Laboratory goes year-round * Business assistance keeps work and profits flowing into Iowa * 4-H involves youth in government * Tax school delivers ISU teaching in communities * Support program helps military families cope * Caregivers empowered when communities offer 'Tools' program |
Palle
Pedersen, ISU Extension soybean agronomist, José Tadashi Yorinori,
a leading government researcher for Asian soybean rust in Brazil, and
John Holmes, ISU Extension field specialist, examine leaves for signs
of Asian soybean rust in a Brazilian field.