If you haven’t tested your soil for soybean cyst nematode (SCN) lately, it may be time to take a closer look.
The yield-robbing pest is quietly expanding its traditional southwestern Ontario footprint to more northern areas of Huron County and as far east as Quebec.
In this episode of Real Agriculture’s Soybean School, Syngenta agronomist Shawn Brenneman and A&L Canada Laboratories technology manager Daryl Patterson peer under the microscope for a close look at what may be lurking in your fields.
Patterson says very little soil testing for SCN has been done in recent years because growers who know the pest is present in their fields have been the using available management tools, including rotation and SCN resistant varieties. But that’s beginning to change, says Patterson who tested about 150 field samples in the Huron County area during the first week of April. More than 50% of the samples tested positive for SCN.
The number of growers now testing their fields is increasing dramatically because of growing awareness of the spread of SCN and the availability of a new seed treatment from Syngenta that can help limit yield losses, which can range from 5% to 100% in fields where the pest is present.
Brenneman explains that Clariva pn seed treatment contains Pasteuria nishizawae, a bacteria that infects and kills SCN that come into contact with the soybean roots. He notes that the seed treatment will kill all nematode races, unlike resistant seed varieties that are race specific and control only one or two of the SCN races found in Ontario soybean fields. He says growers should consider Clariva pn when tests indicate their field contains 500 eggs per 100 grams of soil.
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