Although it’s too late to manage soybean diseases this year, “now is the time we start seeing symptoms [of disease] develop,” said Kevin Carlson, Federated’s agronomy sales manager. Missing the evidence of disease this season leads to future problems since the soil-borne diseases will show up again.

Sudden death syndrome (SDS) and brown stem rot (BSR – see this video for a good explanation of the distinction – will likely rear their yield-reducing heads again when crop rotations circle back to soybeans.

Preventing SDS and/or BSR begins with selecting the variety of soybeans with tolerance and/or resistant to those diseases; soybeans are rated for tolerance to SDS and BSR. Additionally, Carlson noted, “you can use a seed treatment specifically designed for SDS (but not for BSR),” a treatment Federated offers. For BSR, another option is liming – “it tends to help,” said Carlson.

Thus, now is the time to “take good notes on what’s happening” in the soybean fields. And if you had SDS or BSR in last year’s (2020) fields, pay close attention to which soybean varieties you choose when you rotate soybeans into next season’s crop plans.

Protect your soybean yields in the future by scouting for disease now. Your Federated Agronomist is ready to answer questions about SDS and BSR and to help choose soybean varieties to manage these diseases.