Managing Resistance

When it comes to pest management, too much of a good thing can cause problems. PI 88788, a soybean breeding line introduced in the 1980s as a source to combat soybean cyst nematode (SCN), is found in more than 95 percent of SCN-resistant varieties today. Overreliance on this single breeding line—once hailed as a silver bullet—has reduced its ability to offer protection from SCN. In essence, the SCN population can reproduce on varieties with PI 88788 resistance more successfully today, and now SCN is rapidly building up in fields.

With no new sources of genetic resistance available, technologies like Clariva^® Complete Beans seed treatment, a combination of separately registered products, can supplement the effectiveness of current resistant varieties and help prevent yield loss from SCN.

“We are on the edge of a resistance disaster,” says Palle Pedersen, Ph.D., head of Seedcare product marketing at Syngenta. “The time is now to take proactive steps to preserve the effectiveness of SCN-resistant varieties. Implementing a multipronged solution that includes Clariva Complete Beans is an excellent strategy for managing this costly pest.”