Green Stem Syndrome

Stems and petioles of this soybean plant are green well past the point of maturity. Photo © Glen Hartman

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Green stem is a common name for soybean plants that retain green stems well past the point of normal maturity. Green stem syndrome has been observed for years, but has increased dramatically in the past few years. This has led to increasing numbers of complaints of soybeans clogging up combines during harvest and contributing to spoilage in storage.

What causes green stem

Green stem is a complex disease that appears to have more than one cause. Leaf symptoms of green stem often resemble virus infections, and both Bean Pod Mottle virus and Soybean Mosaic virus infections have been associated with green stem. However, specific viruses are not always detected in plants with green stem, and plants with specific viruses do not always have green stem!

Other factors thought to be involved in green stem are insect damage, genetic mutations, and a variety’s tendency to retain a green stem.

Information on these pages is from the cooperative effort of researchers throughout the North Central states. Information from this site can be copied and distributed for educational use. Please credit the source with our name and URL: NCSRP Plant Health Initiative at www.planthealth.info. Please do not use copyrighted photos without permission.