Late season soybean diseases
Pod and Stem Blight
Phomopsis longicolla and the other Diaporthe and Phomopsis species that cause pod and stem blight and Phomopsis seed decay can survive in infested crop residues, in the soil and in seed. Symptoms usually develop on stems of plants during later reproductive stages of growth.
Pod and stem blight infected plants may be stunted and their stems discolored. Black pycnidia or fruiting bodies of the cause fungi develop on the lower portion of the main stem, branches and pods as plants reach maturity. The pycnidia may be limited to small patches near the nodes or may cover dead stems and pods. On stems, pycnidia are usually arranged in linear rows while on pods they are scattered across the pods. The fungi may grow through the pod walls and infect the seed causing Phomopsis seed decay. Infected seed is usually oblong in shape, somewhat shrunken or shriveled and covered with a white mold growth.
Although prolonged periods of wet weather during flowering and pod fill favor the development of pod and stem blight, the rains since Labor Day have been enough to trigger low levels of this disease this year. If wet weather continues through harvest, levels of Phomopsis seed decay may increase.
At this point in the season control of pod and stem blight is not feasible. Management options include rotating crops with at least one year between soybean crops and planting disease-free seed.
Soybean Cyst Nematode
Symptoms of soybean cyst nematode (SCN) range from no obvious symptoms to subtle differences in plant height and vigor or unexpected decreases in yield to severe stunting and discoloration of plants or dead plants. Foliage symptoms may include a yellowing of leaves from the margin inward or a general yellowing of leaves. But such foliage symptoms are also caused by a number of other factors including root rot diseases, nutrient deficiencies, herbicide injury and compaction, so foliage symptoms should not be used to diagnose SCN. Plants with SCN may have poorly developed root systems, if plants are carefully dug up, females may be evident on the roots. The females appear as tiny (smaller than nitrogen-fixing nodules), whitish to yellow to brownish, lemon-shaped structures on the roots. Symptom expression may be more severe if plants are subjected to other stresses such as moisture stress, nutrient deficiencies, herbicide injury, insect damage or other diseases.
Symptoms typically begin to develop as plants move into reproductive stages of growth. Infected plants are less vigorous and have smaller leaves. Leaves may turn yellow and wilt. Leaves eventually turn brown and have a dry appearance. The taproot and lower stem develop a silvery gray to light-gray discoloration of the epidermis (outer layer of the soybean stem). The epidermis may flake or shred away from the stem, giving the stems a tattered appearance. Fine black specks or microsclerotia may be evident in tissues below the epidermis and eventually in epidermal tissues. Symptoms may develop on scattered plants, in circular to oval patches in a field, in drier areas of a field or across much of a field. Charcoal rot is favored by drought conditions so may be more prevalent than usual in much of Missouri this season. Management options for charcoal rot include rotating crops, maintaining good crop vigor to help reduce losses from charcoal rot and irrigating properly from just before bloom to pod fill.
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