Are fungicides effective against soybean rust?
Yes, there are effective fungicides in use in other countries. If soybean rust survives in the U.S., fungicides will be the major tool to protect yield. In addition to efficacy, there are other important questions being addressed in current USDA-ARS fungicide trials in Africa and South America: application methods, the effect of fungicides on the crop, timing, minimum number of applications, and effective rates for each compound, as well as the economics of using fungicides on soybean. The rust fungus is a highly variable pathogen, and resistance management will be an issue.
