First Report of Soybean Rust Caused by Phakopsora pachyrhizi on Phaseolus spp. in Argentina

Asian soybean rust (ASR), caused by Phakopsora pachyrhizi Syd. & P. Syd., has been reported in Argentina on soybean (Glycine max) and kudzu (Pueraria lobata and Pueraria javanica) since the 2002 growing season (1-4). On 29 May 2006, plants of Phaseolus spp. were found to have tan ASR-like rust lesions on leaves at eight different field plots located in the northwestern province of Salta, Argentina. Growth stages of infected bean plants within plots were between pod setting and physiological maturity. Diagnosis of ASR on bean leaves was performed with a stereoscopic microscope to view rust pustules, and suspected uredinia of P. pachyrhizi were observed, furthermore, typical ASR urediniospores also were also observed at ×400. ELISA and PCR methods gave positive results for ASR. Rust spores from these plants were used to inoculate soybean plants at the V3 growth stage with rust spores from field bean plants produced under greenhouse conditions. Typical ASR tan pustules developed within 21 days of inoculation. Bean rust caused by Uromyces phaseoli also was seen in some of the bean plots but was easily differentiated from ASR because the uredinia were much darker and affected the upper leaves, while the ASR uredinia were lighter and spread from the lower leaves to the upper leaves. This finding is of significance in Argentina because bean is an important crop grown in the northwestern region of the country and is planted approximately 2 months after soybean planting. Given this planting time difference, bean may provide an overwintering host for the survival of ASR spores, thereby providing a green bridge for infection of soybean plants during the following growing season. References: (1) A. J. Ivancovich. Soybean rust situation in Argentina. Oral presentation. Symposium: Soybean Rust: Too Close for Comfort. Annual Meeting of the American Phytopathological Society. 2003. (2) A. J. Ivancovich. Plant Dis. 89:667, 2005. (3) A. J. Ivancovich and G. Botta. Rev. Tecnología Agropecuaria 7(21):16, 2002. (4) A. J. Ivancovich et al. Phytopathology (Abstr.) 94(suppl.):S44, 2004.