Sudden death syndrome in soybeans: causes and management
USA
August 18, 2020
In this video, Pioneer Field Agronomist Daniel Emmert discusses the causes of Sudden Death Syndrome (SDS) in soybeans, as well as ways to manage and prevent it from occurring in your fields.
While planting soybeans early in the season has been shown to help maximize yield potential, it does increase your chances of having SDS affect your soybeans. SDS infects soybean plants early in the growing season, particularly in cold and wet conditions.
It presents as green veins with yellow and brown splotches in the interveinal areas, as well as visible brown rot when splitting the stem. SDS is caused by a toxin that is produced by the root system during those cold and wet conditions.
Brown stem rot can also cause similar symptoms.
The disease is worse in areas with soil compaction and poorly drained soils.
Waiting for soils to warm up can help mitigate the risk.
Farmers can also choose a soybean variety with high SDS tolerance scores.
Seed treatments such as ILeVO® can also help prevent SDS.