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ARS Home » Midwest Area » Urbana, Illinois » Soybean/maize Germplasm, Pathology, and Genetics Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #136906
Title: THE SOYBEAN CYST NEMATODE REDUCES SOYBEAN YIELD WITHOUT CAUSING OBVIOUS ABOVE-GROUND SYMPTOMS

Author
item WANG, J - UNIV OF MISSOURI
item NIBLACK, T - UNIV OF MISSOURI
item TREMAINE, J - UNIV OF MISSOURI
item WIEBOLD, W - UNIV OF MISSOURI
item TYLKA, G - IOWA STATE UNIV
item MARRETT, C - IOWA STATE UNIV
item Noel, Gregory
item MYERS, O - SOUTHERN IL UNIV
item SCHMIDT, M - SOUTHERN IL UNIV

Submitted to: Plant Disease
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 5/10/2002
Publication Date: N/A
Citation: N/A

Interpretive Summary: Soybean cyst nematode (SCN), Heterodera glycines, is a serious pest of soybean throughout soybean production areas in the United States, causing an estimated annual production loss of 80 million bushels or $400 million. Diagnostic symptoms of soybean infected by SCN include oval patterns of stunted and yellow plants. The research reported in this paper shows that distribution, infestation levels, and damage have been greatly underestimated. SCN can cause a 10 to 15% loss in yield in the absence of detectable symptoms. These research results will allow soybean producers, scouting services, and extension specialists to be more cognizant of SCN, more careful to determine if soil is infested and to monitor SCN populations in fields with known infestations. Early detection of infestations and careful monitoring of SCN populations will enable soybean producers to maximize yield and increase profits.

Technical Abstract: Field experiments were conducted at locations in central Iowa, central Missouri, and northern and southern Illinois from 1997 to 1999 to investigate effects of Heterodera glycines on soybean growth, development, and yield. A wide range of infestation levels was present at all locations. Two locally adapted cultivars, one resistant to H. glycines, were grown at each location. Cultivars were planted in alternating 4-row strips with 76 cm between rows. For each cultivar, 20 1-m-long single-row plots were sampled every 2 weeks starting 4 weeks after planting. On the resistant cultivars, H. glycines infection reduced plant height, and leaf and stem weight in the first 12 weeks after planting (WAP), and delayed pod and seed development 12 to 14 WAP. On the susceptible cultivars, no reduction in biomass accumulation was detected before 10 WAP, but reduction in pod and seed development occurred throughout the reproductive stages. Susceptible cultivars yielded significantly lower than resistant cultivars but followed growth patterns similar to the resistant cultivars.