ABSTRACT
The objective of plant disease control using fungicides is to minimize the damage caused to the crop, including yield damage. However, the use of fungicides affects the production cost and increases the risk of selection of resistant fungal strains. These two factors are dependent on the number of fungicide sprayings. Currently, the use of fungicides in soybean crops with the particular aim of controlling Asian soybean rust (Phakopsora pachyrhizi) has not adopted any scientific criteria to define when the first application should be done. This review addresses the importance of soybean crop monitoring, as well as of disease diagnosis and quantification of damages caused by soybean rust. The main empirical indicators for the first application and the scientific criterion are presented. The occurrence of cross and multiple resistance in P. pachyrhizi to the site-specific fungicides carboxamides, strobilurins and triazoles may have been accelerated by the unnecessary number of fungicide applications.
Keywords
Asian soybean rust; chemical control; Glycine max; economic damage threshold