Aphid/Rust Outlook: Monitor Fields Regularly for
Pests and Diseases
Lawrence (Larry) Osborne has recently been named to the position of Extension Plant Pathologist and Assistant Professor of Plant Science at South Dakota State University (SDSU) in Brookings.
Originally from Nebraska, Osborne earned his Master of Science degree in plant pathology at the University of Nebraska in 1999. Since 2000 he has been at SDSU, where he has worked in small grains research and earned his doctorate in 2006.
Until his recent assignment, Osborne’s work with small grains focused particularly on the study of Fusarium head blight (or scab) of wheat and barley. The disease has been a problem in the region since the early 1990s. Osborne worked closely with the U.S. Wheat and Barley Scab Initiative, an USDA-ARS funded research program pumping nearly $5 million into researching the management of that disease.
The opportunity to take his new position came when Dr. Marty Draper accepted the position of National Program Leader for Plant Pathology with CSREES in Washington, D.C.
“As the only Extension plant pathologist in South Dakota at this time, my responsibilities will be broad and will include all crops in the state and their diseases,” says Osborne. “To cover all of that, I look forward to working closely with numerous other faculty members at SDSU as well as other researchers throughout the Midwest and the U.S.”
Osborne’s experience includes working with soybeans as a graduate student in Nebraska, where he focused on white mold. He has also worked extensively with nematology, including some work with Soybean Cyst Nematode.
Regarding soybeans as a specific crop, Osborne notes that one challenge in South Dakota is the wide range of maturity groups. “Our soils also tend to be cold and wet in the spring, which might favor some pathogens and diseases.”
Osborne says that, in addition to focusing on the major diseases like Phytophthora and SCN, his department has been preparing for Asian soybean rust. “Brad Ruden, in our project, is working primarily with this. While we haven’t had rust in South Dakota yet, we are setting up sentinel plots, and testing fungicides.”
