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ARL News

Wheat Stem Rust Observations Tracked by HYSPLIT Trajectories

Wheat Stem Rust and Soybean Rust destroy commercially-important crops, primarily in midwestern states. The Illinois State Water Survey, contract laboratory for the National Atmospheric Deposition Program (NADP), detected Wheat Stem Rust spores in rainwater samples from approximately 25 stations in the NADP weekly sampling network during 2004. Rust spores winter over in the southern United States and are advected northward during May and June. Wheat Stem Rust spore detection on plants and subsequent Rust infection is well correlated with spore detection in rain samples. NOAA Air Resources Laboratory HYSPLIT trajectories suggest Texas as the primary source region for the spores.

NADP is supported by nine Federal departments and agencies, including NOAA, as well as numerous other organizations. The NADP National Trends Network (NADP/NTN) is a nationwide network of precipitation chemistry monitoring sites operated according to a weekly collection protocol. The NADP/NTN has grown from 22 stations at the end of 1978, the first year of the program, to about 250 sites spanning the continental United States, Alaska, and Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands. The purpose of the network is to collect data on the chemistry of precipitation for monitoring of geographical and temporal long-term trends.

Contact information: Richard S. Artz
Phone: (301) 713-0295
e-mail: richard.artz@noaa.gov