Asian soybean rust was detected and confirmed for the first time on a soybean plant from a field in Ridgetown, Ontario by the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (OMAFRA) and Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) in Ottawa.

Over the past month, OMAFRA and AAFC conducted tests on sample soybean leaves that confirmed the disease has spread through wind-borne spores into Ontario from the U.S. “This is the first time soybean rust has infected Canadian soybeans,” says Albert Tenuta, field crop plant pathologist with OMAFRA. “Researcher's can't predict how the disease will act in Canada's climate, but we do not expect this disease to overwinter in Ontario.”