| Disease: SDS |


Your soybean checkoff.
Delivering Results.
Sudden Death Syndrome - Scouting
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| Typical leaf symptoms of SDS are easy to see. Note green veins. Be aware, however, that some types of BSR fungi cause a similar foliar symptom. Photo credit: Craig Grau, University of Wisconsin |
The same conditions which lead to high yields are also conducive to the development of SDS. Those are fields with high fertility and water availability,
suited for early planting. Because SDS causes foliar symptoms, it’s easier to see that there’s a problem compared to soybean cyst nematode (SCN), for instance. However, SDS looks similar to brown stem rot (BSR) and stem canker so farmers need to know the difference.
In identifying SDS, NCSRP researchers offer five suggestions:
Comparison of the signs and symptoms of brown stem rot, sudden death syndrome, stem canker.
| Plant Part | BSR | Stem Canker | SDS |
| Roots | healthy |
healthy |
root rot |
| Exterior stem | healthy |
dark, reddish-brown sunken canker starting at node |
healthy |
| Interior stem | brown pith (center) |
slight browning at nodes to completely deteriorated stems |
white, healthy pith |
| Leaves | no symptoms |
general yellowing of leaves |
yellowing between veins similar to BSR |