Des Moines Register
03/22/06
Soybean fungus hunt to focus on South
The Agriculture Department has added more sentinel plots in Southern states to
track the plant rust's spread.
By PHILIP BRASHER
REGISTER WASHINGTON BUREAU
Washington, D.C. — The government's hunt for a potentially devastating
soybean fungus will be focused more on Southern states this year.
The Agriculture Department monitors movements of Asian soybean rust by
coordinating with states to regularly check selected fields, or sentinel plots,
scattered across the eastern half of the country.
The department is increasing the number of sentinel plots that it pays for to 349
this year, up 18 from last year, and concentrating on new sites in Southern states
where the fungus has been found. Iowa will have 10 USDA-sponsored sites, the
same as last year, and 10 privately funded sites, down from 20 in 2005.
The monitoring program is designed to give farmers adequate warning of where
the fungus is spreading, said Bill Hoffman, who is helping oversee the Agriculture
Department's monitoring effort.
"We want to make sure that if soybean rust is on the move that folks (in Iowa)
have the earliest possible warning," he said Tuesday.
Producer-funded programs will pay for additional sites in some states.
The fungus, which can devastate soybean crops if left untreated, was first
reported in the United States in Lousiana in late 2004. During 2005, the fungus
was confirmed in nine Southern states.
Florida will have 30 USDA-funded sentinel plots this year, compared with 15 last
year. Louisiana will have 25, up from 15. Mississippi and Alabama will have 25
and 22 respectively, compared with 24 and 10 last year.
The sites were allocated among states based on the recommendations of
university scientists and USDA's Agricultural Research Service.
Alison Robertson, a plant pathologist at Iowa State University, said states
agreed with the plan to do more monitoring in southern states this year. Iowa's 20
sites should be sufficient, she said.
The 30 sites last year were "more than we needed because the rust didn't move
very far," she said.
A report by the Government Accountability Office said states were inconsistent
last year in how often they reported their findings from the sentinel plots.
Some states, including Iowa, reported weekly as the Agriculture Department
requested. Two states, however, reported just four times.
Predictions of where the fungus will spread depend in part on reporting from the
sentinel plots, the report said.
The report also urged USDA to issue its monitoring plan for this year prior to the
growing season. Hoffman said the plan would be finalized in April.
The accountability office conducted the study at the request of Sen. Tom Harkin,
D-Ia.
"I hope USDA will continue to strengthen coordination among the federal
government, state governments, and all parts of the soybean sector to minimize
the threat this disease poses to the U.S. soybean industry," he said.