Choosing The Right SCN Soybean Varieties

Soybean growers should take care when selecting soybean cyst nematode-resistant varieties because they aren’t all created equal, says Mike Staton.

Look for yield data taken from SCN-infested fields or plots, select several varieties and evaluate their performance on your farm, the Michigan State crop and soil scientist says. Also look at the ability of the resistant varieties to inhibit SCN reproduction in infested fields.

Farmers are also advised to collect soil samples at planting and harvest, because with effective SCN-resistant varieties, the numbers of nematodes recovered from the harvest sample should be lower than the one collected in the spring.

Fungal Signaling Discovery Could Bring New Fungicides 

Researchers at the University of Exeter in England have discovered how pathogenic fungi avoid immune responses of the plants they attack.

Scientists found that signaling organelles in the fungus travel rapidly between the plant-invading fungal cell tip and the fungal cell nucleus, enabling the fungus to produce proteins that it injects into the host plant cells so that it can enter the plant immune system unrecognized.

The researchers say the mechanism occurs early in the fungal-infection process, when fungi are most accessible to fungicide treatment. Disabling the process could result in a new generation of fungicides that are able to act before the plant is harmed.

Gypsum Application Could Clean Up Farm Runoff

Gypsum applications could have a beneficial quality in reducing phosphorus runoff from farm fields, says Warren Dick.

The Ohio State University soil scientist says…