How Costly is Soybean Cyst Nematode?
Soybean Cyst Nematode is top pathogen in soybean crop losses.
By some estimates, soybean cyst nematode (SCN) is responsible for more than $1 billion in U.S. soybean production losses and costs growers more than 128 million bushels annually.
“Estimates show that if you added together the total annual yield loss from the next five most-damaging soybean pathogens, it would be less than the total annual damage caused by SCN,” says Dale Ireland, Ph.D., a technical product lead for Syngenta Seedcare.
SCN is also the gateway to more yield loss. Sudden death syndrome (SDS) and brown stem rot (BSR) are part of the troublesome trio associated with SCN, which also paves the way for other fungal root rots in soybeans.
“SCN often makes the symptoms of SDS and BSR show up sooner and/or make the symptoms more severe,” says Greg Tylka, Ph.D., a professor of plant pathology and nematologist at Iowa State University.
Bottom line: Don’t get lulled into an out of sight, out of mind attitude with SCN. Many soybean farmers don’t realize their fields offer a buffet for SCN, despite the use of SCN-resistant soybean varieties. “Of all the things I work on, the most challenging is SCN,” says Jason Bond, Ph.D., a professor and plant pathologist at Southern Illinois University, who noted that 85 percent to 90 percent of fields surveyed in Illinois are infested with SCN.
Management strategies that include a nematicide seed treatment can help control SCN and offer a positive return on investment. Kevin Spencer, a grower and Golden Harvest® Seed Advisor™ from Kansas, favors Clariva® Complete Beans seed treatment, a combination of separately registered products. “Clariva Complete Beans has been proven time and time again that it pays in the end. We feel like there’s really no other way to go.”
“Estimates show that if you added together the total annual yield loss from the next five most-damaging soybean pathogens, it would be less than the total annual damage caused by SCN,” says Dale Ireland, Ph.D., a technical product lead for Syngenta Seedcare.
SCN is also the gateway to more yield loss. Sudden death syndrome (SDS) and brown stem rot (BSR) are part of the troublesome trio associated with SCN, which also paves the way for other fungal root rots in soybeans.
“SCN often makes the symptoms of SDS and BSR show up sooner and/or make the symptoms more severe,” says Greg Tylka, Ph.D., a professor of plant pathology and nematologist at Iowa State University.
That’s one more reason why SCN must be managed appropriately. “You need to take a holistic approach,” says Palle Pedersen, Ph.D., the head of Seedcare product marketing for Syngenta. “The sooner growers take this issue seriously, the more we can help protect profitable soybean production.”“Estimates show that if you added together the total annual yield loss from the next five most-damaging soybean pathogens, it would be less than the total annual damage caused by SCN.”
Bottom line: Don’t get lulled into an out of sight, out of mind attitude with SCN. Many soybean farmers don’t realize their fields offer a buffet for SCN, despite the use of SCN-resistant soybean varieties. “Of all the things I work on, the most challenging is SCN,” says Jason Bond, Ph.D., a professor and plant pathologist at Southern Illinois University, who noted that 85 percent to 90 percent of fields surveyed in Illinois are infested with SCN.
Management strategies that include a nematicide seed treatment can help control SCN and offer a positive return on investment. Kevin Spencer, a grower and Golden Harvest® Seed Advisor™ from Kansas, favors Clariva® Complete Beans seed treatment, a combination of separately registered products. “Clariva Complete Beans has been proven time and time again that it pays in the end. We feel like there’s really no other way to go.”
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