The arrival of Asian soybean rust in the United States has put soybean growers across the country on alert. Most producers have heard about this disease's devastating effects in other countries when left untreated. Fortunately, U.S. agricultural professionals have been studying the best methods for controlling this disease for several years and recommend a control program that should keep the disease from wreaking economic havoc for soybean producers.

“The key to keeping Asian rust under control is timely fungicide applications when the disease is discovered in the area,” says Agriliance agronomist Alan Bertelsen. “Plus, it's critical to make certain that the fungicide covers all of the soybean plant's leaf surfaces, from top to bottom of the canopy, for effective protection. You essentially need to 'paint' plants with fungicide to keep Asian rust from gaining a foothold in your fields.”

Agronomists recommend combining several high-tech tools to ensure that soybean plants are adequately covered with fungicide. They include using the right spray nozzle tips, spray volume, spray pressure and adjuvants to help fungicides reach target plants and thoroughly cover canopy leaves.

“Fungicide spray must penetrate the plant canopy to reach all levels of the foliage, especially the lowest plant leaves, which are usually the first to be infected by Asian rust,” Bertelsen explains. “Producers need to set the proper boom height, choose the best adjuvants, nozzle type and size, spray pressure and sprayer speed to ensure the optimum fungicide coverage.”

To help maintain the right droplet size and increase fungicide coverage, Bertelsen recommends adding two AgriSolutions™ adjuvants—InterLock™ and Preference®—to the spray mix. This combination of products helps fungicides deeply penetrate all levels of the canopy and cover as much of the soybean plant as possible.

Crop-based InterLock, employing the newest technology in deposition and drift control, increases droplet speed so droplets move faster, deeper and uniformly into the canopy, and it significantly reduces drift. Preference, a highly effective non-ionic surfactant, improves fungicide droplet adhesion to leaves and helps the droplets spread evenly over the leaf surface. Preference also slows fungicide evaporation and protects spray against harmful ultraviolet rays, which can reduce product efficacy.

“Test results show that up to 20 percent more spray lands on targeted plants with InterLock,” Bertelsen notes. “Other tests measuring spray coverage throughout the plant canopy have shown nearly twice the amount of spray droplets reached lower canopy levels with both InterLock and Preference in the spray mixture.

“By paying attention to all the application details, producers will maximize fungicide spray efficacy and fight Asian rust in the most effective and economical way possible,” Bertelsen adds.

Agriliance markets crop nutrients, crop protection products, seed (through CROPLAN GENETICS®) and crop technical services to farmers and ranchers through local cooperatives and independent dealers in the United States, Canada and Mexico.

AgriSolutions and InterLock are trademarks, and Preference is a registered trademark of Agriliance, LLC.
CROPLAN GENETICS is a registered trademark of Land O'Lakes, Inc.