Soybean Cyst Nematode Management In 2013:Take The Test: Beat The Pest

Mar 12, 2013

Here is the situation: Soybean cyst nematode (SCN) is the worst pest of soybeans in the U. S. A. including Missouri.

Fortunately, this pest can be managed, but farmers must take steps before planting soybean this year to protect against soybean cyst nematode.

The first step is to test the soil for SCN. This step must soon be completed so the soil test results will be available by mid-April, and the information can then be used to select varieties for planting this year. University of Missouri Extension Regional Agronomists have information about taking and submitting soil samples for SCN analysis, and more information is available at the University of Missouri web site http://soilplantlab.missouri.edu/nematode.

The second step is to make decisions about crops and soybean varieties to plant in 2013. Farmers should plant corn or another crop resistant to SCN in fields that have a high population of SCN. Crop rotation is a great SCN management method because nematode numbers decline during years when crops such as corn, grain sorghum, a forage crop, or cotton are planted. The number of years these crops should be planted before again planting soybean will depend on the number of SCN in the soil. Soybean may be planted in fields that have a low population of SCN in the soil, but farmers should only plant varieties with some type resistance to SCN. Soybean cyst nematode resistant varieties are available and most yield well. Very few varieties are resistant to all types of SCN so selecting the best variety to plant is difficult. The University of Missouri Variety Testing web site, http://varietytesting.missouri.edu/soybean, shows information about SCN resistance source in varieties they test for yield (information provided by seed companies). Visitors to this site should select “Soybean”, and then select “Characteristics” to see SCN source of resistance. Farmers should also ask representatives for the soybean seed companies they buy from about the best SCN resistant varieties to plant in each field.

More information about SCN management is available in the University of Missouri Extension Guide titled, Soybean Cyst Nematode: Diagnosis and Management. This guide is available at http://muextension.missouri.edu/xplor/agguides/crops/g04450.htm.

The Missouri soybean farmer checkoff managed by the Missouri Soybean Merchandising Council funded much of the research by University of Missouri scientists to develop SCN resistant varieties and determine that crop rotation is a great SCN management tool.

Following these suggested procedures will give soybean farmers a better chance of producing a profitable soybean crop in 2013.

Source : missouri.edu

Video: Spring 2026 weather outlook for Wisconsin; What an early-arriving El Niño could mean

Northeast Wisconsin is a small corner of the world, but our weather is still affected by what happens across the globe.

That includes in the equatorial Pacific, where changes between El Niño and La Niña play a role in the weather here -- and boy, have there been some abrupt changes as of late.

El Niño and La Niña are the two phases of what is collectively known as the El Niño Southern Oscillation, or ENSO for short. These are the swings back and forth from unusually warm to unusually cold sea surface temperatures in the Pacific Ocean along the equator.

Since this past September, we have been in a weak La Niña, which means water temperatures near the Eastern Pacific equator have been cooler than usual. That's where we're at right now.

Even last fall, the long-term outlook suggested a return to neutral conditions by spring and potentially El Niño conditions by summer.

But there are some signs this may be happening faster than usual, which could accelerate the onset of El Niño.

Over the last few weeks, unusually strong bursts of westerly winds farther west in the Pacific -- where sea surface temperatures are warmer than average -- have been observed. There is a chance that this could accelerate the warming of those eastern Pacific waters and potentially push us into El Niño sooner than usual.

If we do enter El Nino by spring -- which we'll define as the period of March, April and May -- there are some long-term correlations with our weather here in Northeast Wisconsin.

Looking at a map of anomalously warm weather, most of the upper Great Lakes doesn't show a strong correlation, but in general, the northern tiers of the United States do tend to lean to that direction.

The stronger correlation is with precipitation. El Niño conditions in spring have historically come with a higher risk of very dry weather over that time frame, so this will definitely be a transition we'll have to watch closely as we move out of winter.