Kansas State University

SCN is important in Kansas because:

  • Losses average 2% on Kansas’s 5 million acres of soybeans.
  • 20% of Kansas’s soybean fields are known to be infested.
  • Because it is mostly symptomless, most producers do not realize they have a problem.
  • Current populations of SCN are beginning to overcome current sources of resistance.
  • SCN problems can lead to greater losses from soybean sudden death syndrome.

SCN Management Recommendations

There are multiple tactics for managing SCN:

  • Soil test to determine if you have SCN
  • Soil test to determine the current population level in known infested fields
  • Rotate with non-host crops
  • Rotate sources of resistance
  • Consider using nematicide seed treatments

Soil testing tips:

  • Where in the field? Concentrate on headlands, field entryways, field edges, and places where water accumulates.
  • When? After soybean harvest is the best time. Sample from directly in the rows.
  • How often? Annually in infested fields, every third soybean crop on non-infested fields.
  • Where should soil test samples be sent?

Rotate different resistant varieties:

  • Never plant the same resistant variety twice in a known infested field.

Rotate different sources of resistance:

  • Rotate sources of resistance if or when they become available.

Rotate to non-host crops:

  • Rotating to non-host crops is beneficial, but rotations may need to be longer than one year out of soybeans.

 

Nematode-protectant seed treatments:

  • Nematode-protectant seed treatments have had inconsistent results in Kansas.
  • Do not rely on nematode-protectant seed treatments as your sole source of management.
  • The best resistant varieties will provide better management than a seed treatment.

Other “need-to-knows” about SCN:

  • Assume every soybean field is infested until you take a soil sample to confirm that it is not.
  • Higher populations of SCN can be tolerated in fine-textured soils compared to coarser soils.

Kansas State University Experts

Tim Todd

Tim Todd

Nematologist

Kansas State University

nema@ksu.edu

785-532-1350

Rodrigo Borba Onofre

Rodrigo Borba Onofre

Plant Pathologist

Kansas State University

onofre@ksu.edu

785-532-6176

Other SCN Management Resources