8/6/2004, Farm Industry News - Several segments of the U.S. agriculturalsector are preparing a quick, effective response if soybean rust isdetected in this country. Soybean rust is a devastating disease thatimpacts soybean yields in many growing areas outside of North America.

Monsanto Company, the University of Illinois and the USDA AgriculturalResearch Service have agreed to work together to identify the location ofrust resistance genes within the soybean genome using genetic markers.This research could lay the groundwork for someday developingrust-resistant soybean varieties.

"Recent advances of soybean rust in Argentina and Brazil make this one ofthe most destructive diseases of soybean, and we must prepare for thepossibility of rust in the U.S. by developing management options includingresistant varieties," says Glen L. Harman, plant pathologist with theAgricultural Research Service.

The EPA has granted Section 18 emergency exemptions for the activeingredient propiconazole to be used to control soybean rust in Minnesotaand South Dakota in the event of an outbreak of the disease. Propiconazoleis marketed under the brand name PropiMax EC fungicide.

The EPA also has authorized Section 18 emergency exemptions for the activeingredient myclobutanil, marketed under the brand names Laredo EC andLaredo EW fungicides, to be used in Iowa and Illinois for soybean rustcontrol.

Use of both propiconazole and myclobutanil will not be allowed until thepresence of soybean rust has been confirmed in the continental UnitedStates by the USDA and the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.

Use of these fungicides will be limited to a maximum of two applicationsper season.