February 27, 2005 Baltimore Sun: Maryland braces for the
arrival of much-feared soybean disease
May 14, 2015 - - A reader recently asked about this and
sadly the link to the story is dead. Ten years ago, one of the big Ag stories
in Maryland was the concern over Asian soybean rust coming to Carroll County
and Maryland… I am not sure that I am knowledgeable enough about soybeans to
write a follow-up, but I will look into it…
The story was reported by Ted Shelsby for the Baltimore Sun.
I’d simply link to the story but the link is dead…
Maryland braces for the arrival of
much-feared soybean disease
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/local/harford/bal-ha.ag27feb27,1,3281526.story?coll=bal-local-harford Dead Link
On
The Farm
By Ted Shelsby, Sun
Staff, February 27, 2005
Maryland farmers are
preparing for an invasion of the dreaded soybean rust.
What sounds like something from a
grade-B horror movie actually represents a potentially devastating economic
problem for one of the largest segments of the state's agriculture industry -
soybeans.
Soybean rust, or Asian soybean
rust, is a highly contagious fungal disease that has been steadily creeping
toward Maryland from the Deep South since it was discovered in Louisiana a
little more than a year ago.
In other parts of the world,
including southern Africa and South America, it has reduced soybean yields by
as much as 80 percent when left untreated.
"Yeah, we know we face the
threat," said Lewis R. Riley, Maryland's agricultural secretary.
"There's a chance that it will show up here this year, but we are hoping
it won't."
Farmers need to be prepared and
they will have to keep a sharp eye out for the fungus," Riley said.
"You have really got to get out into the field, part the plants and look
at the leaves down near the roots. That's where you are going to see the first
signs of an infestation.
"If you see it [signs of an
outbreak] while driving by your field in a pickup, it is too late. It has gone
too far for any remedy," he said.
So far, soybean rust has been
confirmed in nine states: Louisiana, Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia,
Mississippi, Missouri, South Carolina and Tennessee.
Maryland officials have watched
it spread state-by-state, the most recent being Tennessee, and wonder when the
first signs of a blight on soybean plant leaves will show up in fields here.
"It is something we are
watching very closely," Riley said.
The fungus poses no threat to
humans, but it can have a serious economic impact on farming.
To help fight the battle against
the spreading disease, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has approved
the use of more than a half-dozen fungicides.
"We don't know how effective
they will be," Riley said. "But there are indications that if a
farmer catches the problem early, these sprays can be very helpful."
Soybean rust is spread by the
wind.
Agricultural scientists said the
fungus most likely made its way into the United States last year from South
America by catching a ride on the winds of Hurricanes Frances and Ivan.
It was discovered in Japan in
1902. It moved through Asia, Australia and Africa before making its way to
Brazil and Argentina in 2000.
Agricultural officials warn that
the windblown fungus can travel more than 1,000 miles a year, well within the range
of Maryland grain fields this year.
There is also concern that it
could affect other plants, such as green beans and snap beans. "We grow a
lot of green beans in Carroll and Frederick counties and lima beans on the
central Shore," Riley said. "That's another reason to watch the
spread of this disease very, very carefully.
"We don't know that soybean
rust will spread to Maryland in the next year or so, but we have been preparing
to handle such a situation for some time."
Riley said the department,
working with the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the University of Maryland,
"scored high marks" during an exercise last year simulating the
detection of the disease in the soybean-producing region of Delmarva.
Despite its long history,
scientists are not sure how the disease will affect the big U.S. soybean crop.
"So many factors potentially
make the management of soybean rust different in the United States than in
Asia," said Erick De Wolf, a plant pathologist at Penn State University.
"This is a new disease on this continent, so a lot will be determined by
where the rust survives, how it moves and which crops are affected."
U.S. farmers planted 74 million
acres of soybeans last year, valued at $18 billion.
About
500,000 of Maryland's 1.6 million acres of cropland are planted in soybeans
each year. Soybeans, most of which provide feed for poultry and livestock,
accounted for $86 million in farm income in 2003 and ranked fifth in farm
income behind poultry, greenhouse/nursery, dairy and corn.
