SCN exceeding industry standard features

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SCN exceeding industry standard features

An associate professor of crop science says research shows cyst nematodes in soybeans are outperforming industry standard traits.

Nathan Schroeder of the University of Illinois at Brownfield tells Brownfield that the pest can cause significant yield loss by attacking a plant’s roots.

“In the last 25 years, 90 percent of the varieties out there have come from this one source called PI-88788.” He says, “Let’s say you used this resistor and you get a really big number. Well, that might suggest that your resistance is breaking down.”

He says farmers in this scenario should talk to their seed supplier about alternatives.

“So the main one that’s there is called Peking.” He says, “If you look at the different maturity groups, you can find a handful of those varieties.”

Schroeder says farmers with large numbers should also trade in SCN resistance traits.

“Because we’re seeing more and more populations of nematodes that are able to overcome that form of resistance 88788,” he says.

Schroeder says the first step in combating SCN is to test the soil to find out the number of nematodes present in a field and then formulate a plan of action.

AUDIO: Nathan Schroeder – University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign