RS installs 70 Monitora Rust spore collectors

The Secretariat of Agriculture, Livestock, Sustainable Production and Irrigation (Seapi) completed the installation of spore collectors from the Monitora Ferrugem RS program in soybean crops in Rio Grande do Sul. In this 2023/2024 harvest, 70 were installed in 70 municipalities in different regions of the State.

Asian soybean rust is caused by the fungus Phakopsora pachyrhizi, and its control is carried out through integrated management, with monitoring of the appearance of spores, which are structures for the dissemination of the fungus that, under suitable climatic conditions, develop, generating the development of Asian rust on soybean plants.

To carry out this monitoring, Rio Grande do Sul has, since 2021, relied on the Monitora Ferrugem RS Program, conducted by Seapi, Emater/RS and ten partners, made up of phytosanitary analysis laboratories, teaching and research institutions in the State.    

According to the head of Seapi's Plant Health Defense Division, Rita Antochevis, the purpose of the Rust Monitor is to control the presence of the fungus and identify meteorological conditions favorable to the occurrence of Asian soybean rust, to generate a prognosis of the possibility of the occurrence of the disease. illness.

The disease

Asian rust is considered the main disease of soybeans. The causative agent is the fungus Phakopsora pachyrhizi. For its occurrence, there must be what we call a disease triangle: host (soybean), pathogen (fungus) and favorable environment for the spread of the disease (leaf wetness and temperatures between 15ºC and 28ºC).

The initial symptoms of Asian rust generally appear as dark spots, initially on the underside of the leaves. As symptoms progress, the leaf becomes yellowish, similar to rust, giving rise to the name of the disease.