Scout fields at specific times of the year to have the best opportunity to detect problems and sample plants to obtain an accurate diagnosis. There isn't one management program that will work in all fields for all disease problems. Proper identification of soybean diseases in specific fields will be essential for designing management strategies to limit losses due to plant pathogens.
Select soybean varieties that have the resistance genes that will work against the soybean pests in your fields. When the right resistance is chosen, little to no disease will develop even under favorable environmental conditions. Resistance is the most effective control method of all our disease-management strategies.
A good crop rotation program is essential for long-term productivity of fields. Wheat and corn in a crop rotation scheme are essential in reducing soybean pathogen populations. Without soybeans, soybean pathogens begin to decline. For example, soybean cyst nematode populations are reduced by half in the years that corn or wheat is grown.
Tillage is not essential every year but should be considered as a management tool for those years when one of the following has occurred — high incidence of disease, especially if the plant pathogen is a residue-borne pathogen; wet years after disease losses due to Phytophthora; or when crop debris is very thick on the soil surface, causing the soil to remain wet.
Phytophthora root and stem rot, brown stem rot, and sudden death syndrome are all diseases that require excess moisture in order to infect soybean plants. Tiling fields will reduce the amount of time fields stay wet, thereby limiting the time these fungi are active.
Ohio weather is quite variable from location to location and year to year. Seed treatments can protect seed and young seedlings from numerous pathogens that infect soybeans at early growth stages.
There are many pathogens that attack weakened plants as well as those that are favored by over applications of fertilizers. A balanced soil fertility program enables soybeans to limit disease development caused by some pathogens. Thus, lush growth due to excessive nutrients promotes an environment favorable for fungal pathogens by maintaining humidity and leaf wetness.
Purchasing high-quality conditioned seed, planting seed at the proper planting density and depth, and having good soil tilth will help maintain crops through many seasonal stresses.
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Keith L. Smith, Associate Vice President for Ag. Adm. and Director, OSU Extension.
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