Cercospora leaf spot disease symptoms on a sugar beet leaf. In
2001, U.S. farmers grew more than 25 million tons of sugar beets
and provided the country with about half its sugar supply. They
also applied thousands of pounds of fungicide to sugar beet
leaves to battle leaf spot disease, one of the most widespread
diseases affecting the crop. Leaf spot, which results in root
yield loss and reduced sugar content of beets, is caused by the
fungus Cercospora beticola. Although fungicides help effectively
manage the disease, C. beticola is developing resistance to some
currently in use. This has spurred research into alternate
management strategies. Now, plant pathologist Robert Lartey and
microbiologist TheCan Caesar-TonThat of ARS' Northern Plains
Agricultural Research Laboratory in Sidney, Montana, may have
found a way to combat leaf spot disease using an enemy already
in the soil. A plane sprays a sugar beet field with fungicide.
The fungus Cercospora beticola, which causes leaf spot disease,
is developing res