Soybean yield loss estimates due to diseases in the United States and Ontario, Canada from 2015-2019

Authors: BRADLEY, CARL - University Of Kentucky; Hartman, Glen; Mehl, Hillary

Submitted to: Plant Health Progress
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 5/22/2021
Publication Date: 7/15/2021
Citation: Bradley, C.A., Hartman, G.L., Mehl, H.L. 2021. Soybean yield loss estimates due to diseases in the United States and Ontario, Canada from 2015-2019. Plant Health Progress. https://doi.org/10.1094/PHP-01-21-0013-RS.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1094/PHP-01-21-0013-RS

Interpretive Summary: Annual reductions in soybean yield caused by diseases were estimated by university and government plant pathologists in 29 soybean-producing states in the United States and in Ontario, Canada, from 2015 through 2019. Estimated loss from each disease or pathogen varied greatly by state or province and year. Soybean cyst nematode was estimated to have caused more than twice as much yield loss than any other disease over the duration of this survey. Seedling diseases, Sclerotinia stem rot, and sudden death syndrome caused the next greatest estimated yield losses, in descending order. The estimated mean economic loss due to all soybean diseases, averaged across the U.S. and Ontario from 2015 to 2019, was $45USD per acre ($111 per hectare). Results from this survey provide scientists, soybean breeders, government agencies, and educators with data to help inform and prioritize research, policy, and educational efforts in soybean pathology and disease management.

Technical Abstract: Annual reductions in soybean (Glycine max [L.] Merrill) yield caused by diseases were estimated by university and government plant pathologists in 29 soybean-producing states in the United States and in Ontario, Canada, from 2015 through 2019. Estimated loss from each disease or pathogen varied greatly by state or province and year. Soybean cyst nematode (SCN) (Heterodera glycines Ichinohe) was estimated to have caused more than twice as much yield loss than any other disease over the duration of this survey. Seedling diseases (caused by various pathogens), Sclerotinia stem rot (white mold) (caused by Sclerotinia sclerotiorum [Lib.] de Bary), and sudden death syndrome (SDS) (caused by Fusarium virguliforme O'Donnell & T. Aoki) caused the next greatest estimated yield losses, in descending order. Following SCN, the most destructive diseases in the northern U.S. and Ontario differed from those in the southern U.S. The estimated mean economic loss due to all soybean diseases, averaged across the U.S. and Ontario from 2015 to 2019, was $45USD per acre ($111 per hectare).