Reducing Soybean Sudden Death Syndrome with Management Tools

By Carol Brown, Soybean Research Information Network

Sudden death syndrome, or SDS, is an impactful soybean disease. The pathogen that causes SDS, Fusarium virguliforme, lives in the soil and infects soybeans through their roots. This troublesome disease is common in Ohio and across several Midwestern soybean-growing states.

The disease’s importance varies greatly throughout production areas. In some years, the disease may be present in a high percentage of fields across an entire state, and in others it can be localized or rare. The foliar phase of the disease produces symptoms that can be confused with other diseases, most notably stem canker and brown stem rot. Phytotoxicity symptoms from some triazole fungicides also can be easily confused with those of SDS. It is well documented that there is a high degree of association between the presence of soybean cyst nematode (SCN) in a field and SDS development.

Rodrigo Onofre, an assistant professor and plant pathologist at Kansas State University, led a research project exploring whether SDS could be reduced through management practices, including row spacing, plant population, and variety selection.… Continue reading