The Importance of Aerial Application in Combating Asian Soybean Rust
Background & Talking Points

Background
This past year, Asian soybean rust blew into the United States via one of the several hurricanes late in the year. Officials believe spores of the disease may have been carried here from South America. As of December 1, 2004, soybean rust has appeared in Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, South Carolina and Tennessee.

According to the American Soybean Association (ASA), as soybean plants mature and set pods, infection may progress rapidly under certain environmental conditions (such as moisture, high humidity and moderate temperatures) and cause high rates of infection in the middle and upper leaves of the plant. Clouds of spores may be observed within and above canopies of highly infected fields. Fields with high infection rates may begin to look yellow or brown.

According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) soybean rust is a fungus, which is spread primarily by windborne spores capable of being transported over long distances. If there are winds, or someone is simply walking through a rust-infested field, spores will be released and carried through the air.

Although the disease is devastating to soybean crops, there is no threat to the food supply. Soybean rust is the type of disease that needs to be caught within the first few days to avoid a reduction in soybean crops. The rust can reduce soybean yields by as much as 80% in an individual field.

During the crop year 2001-2002, the rust arrived in Brazil. According to Alan McCracken, an independent consultant in the area of aircraft application of agrochemicals “It has caused serious crop losses, in the area of 3.5 million tons of soybeans during the year 2002-2003. The economic loss was estimated at $1.2 billion and some experts suggest that during the recent crop year, the production loss was over 4.5 million tons and this loss may have been as high as $2 billion.” Aerial application is a vitally important means to control and combat soybean rust.

Talking Points About the Importance of Aerial Application to Control Soybean Rust
• In Brazil, aerial application has been demonstrated to be the most effective means of soybean rust control due to the timeliness of application. Aerial application costs are lower per acre than ground rigs and there is no contamination of non infested areas since the aircraft never comes into contact with the soybean plant, unlike ground equipment which can trigger the release of spores when driving through a rust-infested field.

• Aerial application platforms are well suited to combat soybean rust because of their speed, ability to work under wet field conditions, and because aerial applications do not compact the soil or disturb the crop.

• Aerial applicators are already proficient at applying fungicides; many applicators already apply them effectively to other crops, such as rice, corn, sugar beets, and wheat.

• U.S. aerial applicators are available to effectively protect soybeans in the event of a soybean rust breakout. Aerial applicators are mobile and can go to where they are needed. For example, during the late spring/early summer, pilots from northern states are available to assist aerial applicators in southern states because the North has a later growing season and, conversely, in the late summer pilots from the south are available to assist aerial applicators in northern states.

• U.S. ag pilots and operators are responding by expanding their licenses in other states where outbreaks of soybean rust might be expected, so that they might be available in the event of a large demand for applications to treat soybean rust.

• In order to ensure ag pilots are available to treat a severe soybean rust outbreak, NAAA posts a pilot/operator database on its website under the membership section of its website at www.agaviation.org. Pilots can submit forms if they are looking for work and operators can post job listings that they have work available.