Soybean Research

Soybean rust monitoring, identification, management and education for Ontario
Albert Tenuta, OMAFRA; Dr. Terry Anderson, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada

The threat of soybean rust has led to unparalleled international cooperation and partnerships and the comprehensive soybean rust “sentinel plot” monitoring program put in place by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), OMAFRA and Ontario Soybean Growers is one such example. Ontario’s involvement in this innovative network resulted in 30 soybean and one Kudzu (Toronto) sentinel plots being established across the soybean production area of southern Ontario (from Windsor to Ottawa) during the 2008 growing season. These plots were added to the 386 US sentinel plots (funded through the USDA and the soybean check-off (North Central Soybean Research Program)).

The Ontario sentinel plot program involves intensive scouting for soybean rust symptoms and field evaluations by OMAFRA in conjunction with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) and industry partners. The establishment of these plots allowed us also to survey for other soybean pests such as Soybean Cyst Nematode, aphids and other diseases.

To date the only confirmed Canadian soybean rust occurred from plots on the University of Guelph, Ridgetown Campus in 2007. This detection was important since it confirmed that the disease can travel into the province and indeed infect Ontario soybeans.

Ontario Soybean Sentinel Plots for 2008. There is an additional site in Toronto which is the location of the Kudzu plot.

The information collected from this North American “early warning system” is posted on the Ontario Soybean Growers website (www.soybean.on.ca) and the USDA soybean rust website (www.sbrusa.net). The sentinel plot system provides producers, extension, consultants and the soybean industry with an effective and successful decision support tool.

This project is supported through ORD.