As the fall harvest wraps up and farmers begin to work their fields for the winter, Iowa State Nematologist Dr. Greg Tylka reminds farmers to be testing your fields for the presence of soybean cyst nematodes (SCN).
Soybean cyst nematodes are often called the ?billion-dollar bug.? Tylka says they are rated the most damaging soybean pathogen. However, if farmers are diligent in testing, SCN can be kept in check.
Tylka reminds farmers that nematodes are a lot like high blood pressure. Your doctor keeps monitoring it, so should you.
Tylka says nematodes develop resistance to treatments and move along in eroded soils.
Tylka says farmers should test fields that will be soybean fields in 2020. He says testing about every three crops of soybeans is sufficient. If you rotate crops, that is every 6 years.
More information can be found on the SCN Coalition website.
