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The Plant Health Initiative was founded by the North Central Soybean Research Program (NCSRP) with soybean check-off dollars to coordinate soybean production research on a regional level. The North Central region includes Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, and Wisconsin. Our goal is to better understand and manage soybean pests and diseases and make the latest information readily available to soybean producers.

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Soybean Rust Field Training Offered at the Florida Quincy Research Center

April 29, 2008

A soybean rust short course will be offered again this year at the North Florida Research and Education Center in Quincy, Florida. Participants will receive hands-on training in field identification and scouting techniques for Asian soybean rust. The class will be held on August 12 followed by another half-day on August 13.

There is no registration fee for the class, which is sponsored by the North Central Soybean Research Program. Registration materials and the agenda are available on the short course website»

SCN cysts extracted from soil. To monitor the effectiveness of your SCN management program over several years, sample soil at the same point in the management program each time, such as after a year of resistant soybeans or a nonhost crop. Photo credit: Terry Niblack, University of Illinois

Monitoring the Effectiveness of SCN-Resistant Varieties is a Key Management Strategy

March 27, 2008

University of Illinois Nematologist Terry Niblack has found that nearly two-thirds of farmers plant SCN resistant varieties on more than 75 percent of their fields. She considers that to be a high level of awareness that planting resistant varieties is a good way to combat yield losses due to SCN. 

However, she has also found that fewer than a fourth actually test for SCN. According to Tim Todd, nematologist at Kansas State University, monitoring the SCN population density gives a grower good information on the effectiveness of a given resistant variety with the particular population of SCN that infests a particular field. It is also important, he says, to vary the resistance used so the SCN doesn’t adapt to a particular variety. A survey in 2005 showed most SCN resistant cultivars in Illinois had resistance derived from a single source, and further studies showed 70 percent of the SCN had adapted to that source at some level.

As researchers do their part to find new sources and improve SCN resistance, farmers should not be satisfied just knowing they plant a “resistant” variety. Instead, they should be vigilant and strategic: varying the resistant varieties they use and testing repeatedly to monitor their progress.
Read more about SCN in the March issue of the NCSRP eNewsletter»
Read more on sampling SCN to evaluate the success of a SCN management program»

NCSRP 2008 Soybean Aphid Research Update Now Available

March 17, 2008

The 12-page, full-color publication is packed with reports on soybean aphid biological control, genetic resistance (aphid resistant varieties coming soon), aphid early-warning systems, revisiting the 250 threshold, and treatment recommendations.

Order your free print copy from NCSRP by calling 1-800-383-1423. Orders for mailing within the U.S. only, please.

You can also download a copy or read online in pdf format.

Soybean Rust Fungicide Manual Now Updated and Available Online

January 23, 2008

The popular comprehensive reference guide Using Foliar Fungicides to Manage Soybean Rust has been recently updated with new information and several new chapters. Download the complete document or view the list of chapters to read online.

Hot Topics Archive»

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.