Soybean Cyst Nematode (SCN) management:

Early detection and crop rotations


by Dale. I. Edwards, Department of Plant Pathology, University of Illinois


Challenge

SCN is the most serious soybean pest in Illinois and other soybean producing states. SCN can go undetected and reach damaging levels because it:
 
  These factors, coupled with the preferred cropping system of growing soybeans every other year in rotation with corn, allow populaitons to reach damaging levels before they are detected. Farmers must learn to detect SCN early and to manage populations above the economic threshold level.
 
 

Young white females of SCN on field-grown soybeans - a diagnostic tool.
 
 

Response

Our educational and research programs concentrate on early detection methods involving field scouting and plant and soil sampling, and on management practices that integrate nonhost crops and resistant soybeans. Our objectives are to:
 
  Educational programs are being intensified in northern Illinois, where SCN is relatively new.

SCN - resistant and -susceptible plants growing side-by-side.