College of Agriculture & Natural Resources



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|Cass County | |

|Cass County Extension |P: 269-445-4438 |E-mail: msue14@msu.edu |

|120 N. Broadway, Suite 209 Cassopolis, MI 49031 |F: 269-445-4418 |Web: msue.msu.edu/Cass |

| |January 2006 |

|Local field research offers growers soybean rust detection, spray options |MSU Extension educators in Cass, Van Buren and St. Joseph counties also worked|

| |with the Michigan Soybean Promotion Committee (MSPC) to evaluate the |

|Southwest Michigan soybean growers have feared the thought of Asian soybean rust |effectiveness of different fungicide applications for controlling SBR. |

|(SBR) entering their fields since the fungal disease it was first detected in the| |

|gulf states in 2004. |With the help of Cassopolis farmers Carl and Lee Sparks, an experiment was |

| |designed to evaluate two classes of fungicides (protectant and curative) |

|SBR brings with it a horrid history of crop loss as high as 80 percent and |sprayed at three different stages of soybean development and planted in three |

|significant loss of income for growers. In addition, growers were not familiar |different row spacings. |

|with foliar spraying soybeans to fend off this disease. | |

| |The study’s goal was to measure spray penetration into the soybean canopy and |

|Because of its proximity along the state’s southern border, Cass County became |how row spacing and plant maturity would affect it. SBR develops beneath the |

|part of an SBR monitoring program implemented by the United States Department of |plant canopy where moisture and temperature are higher, so an effective spray |

|Agriculture, MSU Extension and the Michigan Department of Agriculture. The |program needs to penetrate the plant canopy. |

|program called for intensive scouting in selected fields to detect SBR before it | |

|caused major economic loss. |The 2005 data, along with data from similar experiments throughout the state, |

| |are providing MSU Extension educators with information that can help growers. |

|Two fields were scouted every week from soybean plant emergence through maturity.| |

|Scouting reports were provided every week to the participating growers and an MSU| |

|campus coordinator, who tabulated data for more than 30 monitored sites |(Continued) |

|statewide. No SBR infections were detected and growers completed the growing | |

|season without further concern. | |

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|[pic] |Michigan State University Extension helps people improve their lives through an educational process |[pic] |

| |that applies knowledge to critical issues, needs and opportunities. Offices in counties across the | |

| |state link the research of the land-grant university, MSU, to challenges facing communities. | |

| |Citizens serving on county Extension councils regularly help select focus areas for programming.  | |

| |MSU Extension is funded jointly by county boards of commissioners, the state through Michigan State | |

| |University and federally through the US Department of Agriculture. | |

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|Spray nozzle selection, nozzle angle, spray pressure, the plant’s growth stage |More than 40 growers attended these sessions. They commented that they |

|and row spacing all affect a fungicide’s ability to penetrate the soybean canopy.|received important information about aphid population rates, effectiveness of |

| |various insecticides and the importance of waiting for aphids to reach |

| |threshold levels before spraying. |

|Researchers were unable to evaluate the fungicide’s effectiveness at controlling | |

|SBR because the disease was not present, though they did notice that there was no|Several growers had sprayed at the first sight of aphids and were concerned |

|significant decrease or increase in soybean yield as a result of using these |that they would have to repeat this costly process. |

|fungicides. | |

| |Growers were pleased to hear directly from the researcher and felt they could |

|Additional recommendations will come as MSU research and Extension staff members |better manage soybean aphids after attending this meeting. |

|continue researching SBR control options. | |

| |Contact: Dan Rajzer, County Extension Director |

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|MSU researcher helps growers | |

|understand, manage soybean aphids |Cass County MSU Extension Staff |

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|Prior to last spring’s planting, soybean aphids were predicted to reach high |County Extension Director |

|numbers, potentially causing yield reductions. Growers were concerned and needed |Dan Rajzer |

|the latest information on scouting and management. | |

| |Extension Educator Consumer Sciences |

|MSU Extension educators in Cass, Berrien and Van Buren counties brought |Cindy Warren |

|researchers and growers together to share their knowledge and experiences. | |

| |Extension Educator Pork AoE |

|Growers were invited to two locations where they could meet with MSU entomologist|Beth Franz |

|Chris DiFonzo to ask questions and share information on soybean aphid | |

|development, scouting and control options. |Extension Educator Youth Development |

| |Betty Jo Nash |

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| |Food Nutrition Program Associate |

| |Linda Gunther |

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| |Building Strong Families Program Associate |

| |Nora Lee |

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| |Support Staff |

| |Patty Dohm |

| |Mary Wilkinson |

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|MSU is an affirmative-action, equal opportunity institution, Michigan State University Extension programs and materials are open to all without regard to race, |

|color, national origin, gender, religion, age, disability, political beliefs, sexual orientation, marital status, or family status. Issued in furtherance of |

|MSU Extension work, acts of May 8 and June 30, 1914, in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Thomas G. Coon, Extension Director, Michigan State |

|University, E. Lansing, MI 48824 |

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