The 2005 crop will be particularly challenging for Illinois soybean producers. Soybean rust, a fungal disease, has moved up from South American and was found in the Southern US in the fall of 2004. This is the first discovery of the disease in the continental US. The disease is in the form of spores and can spread through airborne pathways over wide geographic areas (Isard et al, 20041). Weather patterns, especially those from the South to North, will be the main factor causing an outbreak in Illinois during the 2005 crop year.
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