Tag Archives: SDS

Consider Risk of Soybean Diseases in 2011

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Due to the widespread outbreak of Sudden Death Syndrome in 2010, many soybean growers are taking an even closer look to disease rating scores as they select seed for the 2011 growing season. The effects of last season’s disease is fresh on our minds, but industry experts remind growers to recall what happened in their fields two seasons ago if they use a corn-soybean rotation.

“… The risk of white mold should be considered as well, particularly in northern Iowa where white mold was wide spread in 2009,” says X.B. Yang, an Iowa State University Extension plant pathologist and soybean disease expert.

Both SDS and white mold have built a sufficiently high amount of inoculum in soybean fields in Iowa, according to a December 4 article in Wallaces Farmer. Next summer’s weather conditions will help determine which of these diseases has the greater risk of outbreak.

To read more about the risk of SDS and white mold in 2011, click here to read the article in its entirety.

Fall Tillage Impacts Soybean Diseases

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To till or not to till? That’s been one of the most frequently asked questions this fall as many farmers finished harvest 30 days ahead of last year and weather conditions allowed them to work the ground.

Fall tillage practices impact Soybean White Mold and Sudden Death Syndrome, says Iowa State University Plant Pathologist X.B. Yang. The effects of fall tillage are completely opposite: no-till can decrease the risk of White Mold while SDS is usually more severe in no-till fields.

SDS is more severe in no-till situations because soil temperatures remain cooler and wetter, according to a recent Wallaces Farmer article. No-till fields have a lower risk of White Mold, however, due to the placement or distribution of sclerotia. 

To read this article in its entirety, click here.

How to Choose Soybean Varieties

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Choosing the right soybean varieties is a critical factor for profitable soybean production. Variety characteristics that can weigh heavily in the decision include: maturity, disease resistance, herbicide resistance, emergence, standability, row spacing and overall plant type. 

Keeping good field records from year-to-year will help determine which characteristics are most crucial when deciding which soybean varieties to plant in a given field in a given year. If there were problems experienced with soybean fields in the previous year (e.g. Sudden Death Syndrome), remember those fields will most likely be planted to corn this coming year. There should not be too much emphasis placed on problems from the previous year; it’s more important to check your field records to see what pressures that particular field faced when it was last planted to soybeans.

It’s always wise to spread risk by planting soybeans with different maturities. To maximize yield potential, choose varieties with a five- to seven-day spread in maturity. Shorter season varieties are at less risk to late-season diseases but limit yield potential. Make sure the fuller-season varieties you select have good disease packages.

Planting varieties with disease resistance can be the most effective and the most economical method of disease control. Latham® soybean brands have good resistance or tolerance to the major diseases that occur in our trade territory including: Soybean Cyst Nematode (SCN), Sudden Death Syndrome (SDS), Brown Stem Rot (BSR), Iron Deficiency Chlorosis (IDC), White Mold and Phytophthora. Our 2011 Seed Guide provides a rating provided for each of these on pages 46-47.

If you’re planting soybeans with different herbicide traits (e.g. Roundup®-resistant versus LibertyLink®), careful records must also be kept to ensure the herbicide program matches the correct fields. If you’re using a glyphosate-resistant program (i.e. Roundup) in both corn and soybeans, it’s best to use herbicides with alternative modes of action in a pre-plant or pre-emergent program. This will help prevent selecting weed populations that grow resistant to glyphosate.

Don’t be afraid to try new soybean varieties, new traits and even new management practices. Experimenting in your own fields is the only sure way to see if new ideas will work best for you! If you have questions about what soybean brands might be best for your fields, please contact us with a comment in the field below, send an email to service@lathamhybrids.com, or call
1-877-GO-LATHAM (1-877-465-2842).