GUARDING Against Rust: Why Brazilians use preventative applications when soybeans are most vulnerable

摘要

While U.S. farmers prep their equipment for spring planting, harvest is well underway on the rolling plains of Parana, a southern state in Brazil. With every pass of the combine, farmers there breathe a sigh of relief that they've dodged the devastating disease Asian soybean rust for one more season. Farmers in this region of Brazil face different challenges from their neighbors to the north who farm closer to the equator. The weather is more variable, thus the threat of rust is not as consistent and the methods of defending against the disease are somewhat different.