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Report: Soybean Cyst Nematodes Keep Spreading
USAgNet - 01/26/2021

In just the past three years, soybean cyst nematode has spread to 55 new U.S. counties in 11 states. That's according to Greg Tylka, Iowa State University nematologist and co-leader of The SCN Coalition.

"The most damaging soybean pathogen, SCN has also infested 24 new counties and rural municipalities in the Canadian provinces of Manitoba, Ontario and Quebec," he said. "Periodically, Tylka surveys plant health professionals at universities as well as state and provincial departments of agriculture in the U.S. and Canada about SCN's spread."

At 29, New York reported the largest number of newly infected SCN counties in the United States. Gary Bergstrom, a plant pathologist at Cornell University, says the first discovery of SCN in the state in 2016 led to an intensive SCN survey by Cornell Cooperative Extension educators coordinated by the state's IPM program.

"SCN is now widespread in New York," says Bergstrom. "Soybean growers are fortunate that in most fields where SCN has been detected, population densities are low, although it's concerning that a few counties had higher numbers."

Bergstrom is not surprised SCN continued to spread across New York given its steady expansion of soybean acres over the last few decades. "This should be a wake-up call for soybean growers in New York and neighboring states," he adds. "SCN is coming to you if it's not already there.

"Growers are asking more questions about SCN-resistant varieties, nematode-protectant seed treatments, and soil testing for SCN," he adds. "Coalition resources are invaluable in our efforts to educate soybean growers about the importance of active management. Our next step is studying the virulence of SCN populations to help growers select SCN-resistant varieties."

Also, in 2020, plant pathologists from several land-grant universities published research examining the economic losses of soybean diseases. Using a variety of statistical approaches, the researchers estimated economic impacts of 23 common soybean diseases in 28 soybean-producing states in the U.S. from 1996 to 2016. The result: SCN caused estimated yield losses of nearly $32 billion during that time. That's more than $1.5 billion annually.


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