SCN robs yields, poses management challenges

Tour of the Tylka Lab at Iowa State University reveals how researchers study and predict SCN numbers amid growing management concerns.

Soybean cyst nematode (SCN), the most economically damaging pest to soybean crops in the United States, has prompted researchers to intensify their search for future management strategies as resistance to current control methods becomes of increasing concern.

Greg Tylka, a Morrill Professor, plant pathologist and director of the Iowa Soybean Research Center at Iowa State University (ISU), provided an in-depth look into SCN during a November tour of the Tylka Laboratory, the nerve center of SCN study for decades.

Participants gained firsthand insights into SCN with demonstrations showcasing SCN cyst extraction from soil; egg extraction from cysts; viewing of SCN eggs, juveniles, females and cysts; and in-depth discussion of SCN management through current control strategies.

"SCN is the most...