Seed Treatment Effects on Maize Seedlings Coinfected with Rhizoctonia solani and Pratylenchus penetrans.

The roots of maize seedlings typically are attacked by a complex of organisms that includes fungal pathogens and plant-parasitic nematodes but few studies have examined the effects of these organisms in combination. Rhizoctonia solani can be an important component of the seedling disease complex; like other fungi, its effect on the plant may be influenced by the activity of nematodes such as the root-lesion nematode Pratylenchus penetrans. In this study, we assessed the impact of seed treatments, including fungicide-nematicide combinations, on maize seedlings exposed to R. solani and P. penetrans alone or in combination. In growth-chamber and greenhouse experiments, seed treated with various active ingredient combinations were planted in an autoclaved sand-soil mixture with or without inoculum of R. solani. In some treatments, a suspension of P. penetrans adults and juveniles was added to the sand-soil mixture. In the greenhouse experiments, infection by R. solani caused dramatic reductions in root length, volume, surface area, and numbers of root tips and root forks, whereas P. penetrans infestation alone reduced only shoot fresh weight. Statistical interactions between the effects of the two organisms were not significant, although fungal infestation significantly reduced the numbers of nematodes extracted from roots. Seed treatments significantly improved most root development variables, and the combination that included four fungicides, thiamethoxam, and abamectin was the best treatment for most variables. Results were similar in the growth-chamber experiments, where R. solani caused significant reductions in nearly all shoot and root development measurements, and seed treatment with sedaxane, alone or combined with abamectin, consistently provided the best results. R. solani was more damaging to seedlings than P. penetrans, and the combination of the two organisms did not cause more damage than R. solani alone. Seed-treatment active ingredients that specifically targeted R. solani (sedaxane) and P. penetrans (abamectin) had large positive effects on seedling health, causing significant improvements in root and shoot growth and development compared with untreated seedlings exposed to these pathogens.

Seed Treatment Effects on Maize Seedlings Coinfected with Fusarium spp. and Pratylenchus penetrans.

Seedling diseases of maize are caused by a complex of organisms, including fungi in the genus Fusarium. Root-lesion nematodes (Pratylenchus spp.) are common in fields where maize is grown, and they are known to interact with Fusarium spp. in several crops. The objectives of this study were to assess the impacts of seed treatment combinations on maize seedlings coinfected with Pratylenchus penetrans and two Fusarium spp. that cause seedling disease symptoms (Fusarium graminearum and F. verticillioides) and to determine whether there were interactions between P. penetrans and the Fusarium spp. Growth-chamber experiments were conducted with fungicide- or nematicide-treated or untreated maize seed planted in a sand-soil mixture infested with inoculum of either F. graminearum or F. verticillioides. A suspension of 4,000 P. penetrans (mixed stages) was added to the pots at the time of planting. After 30 days, shoot length and fresh and dry shoot and root weights were determined. Total root length and fine root length, root volume, numbers of root tips and forks, and root surface area were measured through analysis of digital images of the root systems. After 42 days, P. penetrans nematodes were extracted and quantified from roots and soil. There were significant effects of the treatments on root health with interactions between Fusarium spp. and P. penetrans. F. graminearum caused the greatest reductions in root and shoot growth, and interactions with P. penetrans were more evident for F. verticillioides than for F. graminearum. Image analysis of root system architecture showed that seed treatment significantly improved root system characteristics. Seed treatments containing the nematicide abamectin in combination with fungicides reduced root infection by P. penetrans and provided the healthiest root system when under attack by the Fusarium-Pratylenchus complex.

Effects of Tillage Practices on Dissemination and Spatial Patterns of Heterodera glycines and Soybean Yield.

Two field experiments were conducted in central Iowa to assess the effects of tillage on Heterodera glycines dissemination and reproduction and soybean (Glycine max) yield. Plots in both experiments were artificially infested with equivalent numbers of H. glycines cysts. In one experiment, plots were left noninfested or received aggregated or uniform infestation, and a susceptible soybean cultivar was grown for 3 years. By the end of the first growing season and through the second, H. glycines population densities were consistently greater (P ≤ 0.05) in uniformly infested plots than in plots with aggregated infestations. No differences in soybean yield among the treatments were detected. In a second experiment, a 1-m2 area of each plot was infested with H. glycines cysts, susceptible soybeans were grown for four seasons, and crop residue was managed with either ridge-, conventional-, reduced-, or no-tillage. After 1 year, nematode population densities were significantly (P ≤ 0.05) greater in conventional- and reduced-tillage treatments than in no- and ridge-tillage treatments. After 2 years, H. glycines had been disseminated 6.9 m from the infestation site in conventional- and reduced-tillage treatments but only 0.5 and 1.4 m for no-tillage and ridge-tillage treatments, respectively. After 3 years, H. glycines population densities were 10 times greater in conventional- and reduced-tillage treatments than in the no-tillage treatment; conventional-tillage was the only treatment with yield significantly lower (P ≤ 0.05) than the noninfested control. Aggregation of H. glycines eggs was greater (P ≤ 0.05) in no- and ridge-tillage treatments than in conventional- and reduced-tillage treatments. Results indicate tillage can quickly disseminate H. glycines in newly infested fields, facilitating more rapid nematode reproduction and subsequent yield loss.

Genotypes A and B of Cadophora gregata Differ in Ability to Colonize Susceptible Soybean.

Growth chamber experiments were conducted to determine if extent of colonization of soybean stems by genotypes A and B of Cadophora gregata (Phialophora gregata), the causal agent of brown stem rot (BSR) of soybean, is similar in soybean plants resistant or susceptible to genotype A. Upon introduction of the two genotypes separately into the base of stems of 2-week-old seedlings, genotype A advanced with the growing tips of susceptible but not resistant genotypes. In contrast, genotype B did not advance with the growing tips of either resistant or susceptible soybean. In similar experiments, 5 weeks after introduction of genotype A, both mean percent stem length colonized by C. gregata and mean percentage of symptomatic trifoliate leaflets were significantly less for resistant than for susceptible genotypes. For genotype B, there was no or a slight difference between resistant and susceptible soybean genotypes in mean percent stem length colonized and no difference in mean percentage of symptomatic trifoliate leaflets 5 weeks after introduction of the pathogen. These results indicate that genotype A and genotype B differ not only in the severity of foliar symptoms they cause on genotype A-susceptible soybean plants, but also in how severely they colonize the stems of these soybean plants. In our experiments, genotype A and genotype B did not differ consistently in their ability to cause internal stem discoloration. The two genotypes of C. gregata can be distinguished based on how severely they colonize stems of genotype A-susceptible soybean. Thus, a BSR resistance screening method, which relies on assessment of stem colonization by C. gregata, works only for screening soybean lines resistance to genotype A. In light of these results, it is important to distinguish soybean resistance to genotype A versus genotype B of C. gregata. Whether genotype B causes yield loss and whether soybean plants can be distinguished as resistant or susceptible to genotype B needs to be investigated.

A model plant pathogen from the kingdom Animalia: Heterodera glycines, the soybean cyst nematode.

The soybean cyst nematode, Heterodera glycines, adversely affects the production of soybean, Glycine max, in many areas of the world, particularly in the United States, where it is the most economically important soybean pathogen. Despite the availability of hundreds of H. glycines-resistant soybean cultivars, the nematode continues to be a major limiting factor in soybean production. The use of nonhost rotation and resistance are the primary means of reducing losses caused by the nematode, but each of these options has disadvantages. As a subject for study of nematode parasitism and virulence, H. glycines provides a useful model despite its obligately parasitic nature. Its obligately sexual reproduction and ready adaptation to resistant cultivars, formerly referred to as "race shift," presents an excellent opportunity for the study of virulence in nematodes. Recent advances in H. glycines genomics have helped identify putative nematode parasitism genes, which, in turn, will aid in the understanding of nematode pathogenicity and virulence and may provide new targets for engineering nematode resistance.

Soybean Stem Colonization by Genotypes A and B of Cadophora gregata Increases with Increasing Population Densities of Heterodera glycines.

Growth chamber experiments were conducted to investigate whether parasitism by increasing population densities of Heterodera glycines, the soybean cyst nematode, increases the incidence and severity of stem colonization by the aggressive genotype A and the mild genotype B of Cadophora gregata (Phialophora gregata), causal agents of brown stem rot of soybeans. Soybean genotypes with three combinations of resistance and susceptibility to H. glycines and genotype A of C. gregata were inoculated with each genotype of C. gregata alone or each genotype with two population densities of H. glycines eggs, 1,500 or 10,000 per 100 cm3 of soil. Stems of two H. glycines-susceptible soybeans were more colonized by both aggressive and mild genotypes of C. gregata in the presence of high than in the presence of low H. glycines population density.

A New Greenhouse Method to Assay Soybean Resistance to Brown Stem Rot.

Greenhouse, growth chamber, and field experiments were conducted to develop a method to assess resistance of soybeans to Cadophora gregata (Phialophora gregata), causal agent of brown stem rot (BSR). In the new method, C. gregata is introduced at the base of the stems of 2-week-old soybeans, and the presence of the fungus is assessed in the tips of the stems 5 weeks later. To test the effectiveness of the method, two populations of soybeans and 10 checks were inoculated at the stem base and then assayed for fungal colonization of the stem tips, percentage of symptomatic leaflets, and percent internal stem length discolored. The lines also were planted in naturally infested fields to assess for percent internal stem length discolored, and were tested for the presence/absence of a BSR-resistant molecular marker. Greenhouse, field, and molecular marker data were compared. Linear regression analysis suggested that percentage of plants with colonized stem tips explained 41 to 64% of the variability (P < 0.0001) in percent stem length discolored in the field and 58 to 85% of the variability (P < 0.0001) in molecular marker data for BSR resistance. Percent stem length discolored assessed in the greenhouse had the lowest correlation with percent stem length discolored in the field and with the molecular marker. Of three incubation temperatures tested, 22°C was the most conducive for distinguishing resistant/susceptible soybeans using the colonization method.

Assessing Heterodera glycines-Resistant and Susceptible Cultivar Yield Response.

The soybean cyst nematode Heterodera glycines (SCN) is of major economic importance and widely distributed throughout soybean production regions of the United States where different maturity groups with the same sources of SCN resistance are grown. The objective of this study was to assess SCN-resistant and -susceptible soybean yield responses in infested soils across the north-central region. In 1994 and 1995, eight SCN-resistant and eight SCN-susceptible public soybean cultivars representing maturity groups (MG) I to IV were planted in 63 fields, either infested or noninfested, in 10 states in the north-central United States. Soil samples were taken to determine initial SCN population density and race, and soil classification. Data were grouped for analysis by adaptation based on MG zones. Soybean yields were 658 to 3,840 kg/ha across the sites. Soybean cyst nematode-resistant cultivars yielded better at SCN-infested sites but lost this superiority to susceptible soybean cultivars at noninfested sites. Interactions were observed among initial SCN population density, cultivar, and location. This study showed that no region-wide predictive equations could be developed for yield loss based on initial nematode populations in the soil and that yield loss due to SCN in our region was greatly confounded by other stress factors, which included temperature and moisture extremes.

Heterodera glycines Cyst Components and Surface Disinfestants Affect H. glycines Hatching.

We investigated the effects of Heterodera glycines cyst components and surface disinfestants on hatching of H. glycines eggs in vitro. Eggs were incubated in either H. glycines cyst wall fragments, cyst wall and egg rinsate, egg homogenate, or control solutions of soybean root diffusate, sterile distilled water, or zinc sulfate. Hatch in cyst wall and egg rinsate, and egg homogenate, was greater (alpha = 0.05) than hatch in sterile distilled water; however, it was not different from hatch in zinc sulfate according to Dunnett's test. Hatch in cyst wall fragments was similar to hatch in sterile distilled water. To determine whether surface disinfestants affected hatch, eggs were treated first with chlorhexidine diacetate, mercuric chloride, sodium hypochlorite, or streptomycin sulfate and then incubated in H. glycines egg homogenate, soybean root diffusate, sterile distilled water, or zinc sulfate. Hatch of eggs treated with chlorhexidine diacetate, mercuric chloride, and streptomycin sulfate was reduced (alpha = 0.05), and hatch of eggs treated with sodium hypochlorite was increased (alpha = 0.05) relative to hatch of nontreated eggs in all incubation solutions except zinc sulfate according to Dunnett's Test. Hatch in zinc sulfate was similar among all surface disinfestants except mercuric chloride, where hatch was reduced relative to hatch of nontreated and other surface disinfestant-treated eggs.

Resistance to Phialophora gregata Is Expressed in the Stems of Resistant Soybeans.

Growth chamber experiments were conducted to determine if resistance to Phialophora gregata, the causal agent of brown stem rot (BSR) of soybean, is expressed in the stems of resistant soybean genotypes. Upon introduction of the pathogen into the base of stems of 2-week-old seedlings, the fungus advanced with the growing tips of plants of susceptible genotypes but lagged behind in resistant genotypes. Five weeks after introduction of the pathogen, both mean percent stem length colonized by P. gregata and mean percentage of symptomatic trifoliate leaflets were significantly less for resistant than for susceptible genotypes. These results indicate that resistance can be expressed in the stems of resistant soybean plants and suggest that stem inoculation methods may be useful for assessing resistance to P. gregata. Also, in our experiments, internal stem discoloration was not as useful as colonization and foliar symptoms in discriminating resistant from susceptible genotypes.

Soybean Cyst Nematode Reduces Soybean Yield Without Causing Obvious Aboveground Symptoms.

Field experiments were conducted at locations in northern and southern Illinois, central Iowa, and central Missouri from 1997 to 1999 to investigate the effects of Heterodera glycines on soybean growth, development, and yield. A wide range of infestation levels was present at all locations. Two locally adapted cultivars, one resistant to H. glycines, were grown at each location. Cultivars were planted in alternating four-row strips with 76 cm between rows. For each cultivar, 20 1-m-long single-row plots were sampled every 2 weeks starting 4 weeks after planting. Infection by H. glycines reduced plant height and leaf and stem weight on the resistant cultivars in the first 12 weeks after planting, and delayed pod and seed development 12 to 14 weeks after planting. Biomass accumulation was not reduced on the susceptible cultivars until 10 weeks after planting; reduction in pod and seed development occurred throughout the reproductive stages. Susceptible cultivars produced significantly lower yields than resistant cultivars, but the yield reductions were not accompanied by visually detectable symptoms.

Heterodera glycines Infection Increases Incidence and Severity of Brown Stem Rot in Both Resistant and Susceptible Soybean.

Growth chamber experiments were conducted to investigate whether parasitism by Heterodera glycines, the soybean cyst nematode, increases incidence and severity of brown stem rot (BSR) of soybean, caused by Phialophora gregata, in both resistant and susceptible soybean cultivars. Soybean genotypes with various combinations of resistance and susceptibility to both pathogens were inoculated with P. gregata alone or P. gregata plus H. glycines. In most tests of H. glycines-susceptible genotypes, incidence and severity of internal stem discoloration, characteristic of BSR, was greater in the presence than in the absence of H. glycines, regardless of susceptibility or resistance to BSR. There was less of an increasing effect of H. glycines on stem symptoms in genotypes resistant to both BSR and H. glycines; however, P. gregata colonization of these genotypes was increased. Stems of both a BSR-resistant and a BSR-susceptible genotype were colonized earlier by P. gregata in the presence than in the absence of H. glycines. Our findings indicate that H. glycines can increase the incidence and severity of BSR in soybean regardless of resistance or susceptibility to either pathogen.

Use of remote sensing to detect soybean cyst nematode-induced plant stress.

Integrating remote sensing and geographic information systems (GIS) technologies offers tremendous opportunities for farmers to more cost effectively manage the causes of crop stress. Initial soybean cyst nematode (SCN) population densities from 995 2-x-3-m quadrats were obtained from a soybean field near Ames, Iowa, in 2000. The percentage of sunlight reflected from each quadrat was measured weekly using a multispectral radiometer beginning in mid-May and continuing through mid-September. Aerial images were obtained at heights above the field ranging from 45 to 425 m on 12 dates during the soybean growing season. This was accomplished using color film and infrared film in conjunction with a filter to measure reflectance in the near-infrared region (810 nm). Satellite images (Landsat 7) were obtained for five dates during the 2000 growing season. Maps depicting initial SCN population densities, soybean yield, soy oil, and soy protein were generated using the GIS software program ArcView. Percentage reflectance (810 nm), aerial image intensity, and satellite image intensity data then were regressed against soybean yield, soy oil, and soy protein concentrations obtained from each geospatially referenced soybean quadrat. Percentage reflectance measurements explained up to 60% of the variation in initial SCN population densities within soybean quadrats and up to 91% of the variation in soybean yield. Aerial image and satellite image intensities explained up to 80% and 47% of the variation in soybean yield, respectively. Percentage reflectance data also explained 36% and 54% of the variation in oil and protein concentrations of the harvested soybeans, respectively. These results indicate that remote sensing coupled with GIS technologies may provide new tools to detect and quantify SCN population densities and their impacts on the quantity and quality of soybean yield.

A Revised Classification Scheme for Genetically Diverse Populations of Heterodera glycines.

Heterodera glycines, the soybean cyst nematode, is a major yield-limiting pathogen in most soybean production areas worldwide. Field populations of H. glycines exhibit diversity in their ability to develop on resistant soybean cultivars. Since 1970, this diversity has been characterized by a bioassay used to assign a race classification to a population. The value of the race scheme is reflected in the number and quality of resistant soybean cultivars that have been developed and released by soybean breeders and nematologists working in concert. However, the race scheme also has been misapplied as a means of studying H. glycines genotypes, in part due to the use of the term "race." For fungal and bacterial pathogen species, "race" can theoretically be applied to individuals of a population, thus allowing inference of individual genotypes. Application of a race designation to an individual egg or second-stage juvenile (J2) of H. glycines is not possible because a single J2 cannot be tested on multiple hosts. For other nematode species, "race" is defined by host ranges involving different plant species, whereas the H. glycines race test involves a set of lines of the same plant species. Nonetheless, because H. glycines populations vary in genetic diversity, and this variation has implications for management strategies, a mechanism is needed for documenting and discussing population differences. The HG Type scheme described herein avoids the implication of genetic uniformity or predictability in contrast to the way the race scheme has been used.

Relationships Between Tillage and Spatial Patterns of Heterodera glycines.

ABSTRACT The dynamics of Heterodera glycines spatial patterns were studied under different tillage systems in two naturally infested soybean fields in Iowa from 1994 to 1997. At each location, there were four different tillage treatments (conventional tillage, reduced tillage, ridge tillage, and no tillage). Soil samples were taken from 98 contiguous quadrats (5.2 m(2)) per plot in the fall of 1994, before any tillage was performed, and in the spring of the following 3 years shortly after planting. Cysts were extracted from soil samples by elutriation and counted, and eggs were extracted from cysts and enumerated. Spatial patterns of H. glycines populations were characterized by geostatistical analysis and variance-to-mean (VM) ratios. Semivariance values were calculated for cyst and egg densities and semivariograms were constructed. In general, there was greater spatial dependence among cyst populations than egg populations. In one field with a strongly aggregated initial H. glycines population, tillage practices resulted in changes in spatial patterns of H. glycines populations, characterized by spherical-model semivariogram parameters (sill, nugget effect, and range of spatial dependence). These parameters indicated increasing aggregation over time in no tillage and ridge tillage treatments, but decreasing aggregation in reduced and conventional tillage treatments. There was an increase of 350% in sill values (maximum semivariance) for cyst populations after 3 years of no tillage, but in the conventional tillage treatment, sill values remained unchanged or decreased over time as tillage was implemented. Semivariograms for cyst and egg population densities revealed strong anisotropy (directional spatial dependence) along soybean rows, coincident with the direction of tillage practices. VM ratios for cyst counts increased each year in the no tillage and ridge tillage treatments, but decreased for 2 years in reduced tillage and conventional tillage treatments. Final VM ratios for cyst and egg counts were highest in the no tillage treatment. In a second field, with low initial aggregation of H. glycines populations, there was little measurable change in semivariogram parameters after 3 years of no tillage, but in the conventional tillage treatment, populations became less aggregated, as the range, sill, and the proportion of the sill explained by spatial dependence decreased for cyst population densities. Our results indicated that in soybean fields with initially aggregated populations of H. glycines, no tillage and ridge tillage systems promoted aggregation of the nematode population, whereas conventional and reduced tillage systems resulted in a less aggregated spatial pattern.

Effects of weed management systems on canopy insects in herbicide-resistant soybeans.

The effects of transgenic herbicide-resistant soybean varieties and their corresponding weed management strategies on canopy insects were examined in studies at two locations in Iowa in 1997 and 1998. Weed management systems that allowed more weed escapes typically had higher insect population densities. However, systems with fewer weeds seemingly were preferred by potato leafhoppers. Bean leaf beetles and potato leafhoppers showed preferences for certain soybean varieties, but these effects were attributed to soybean plant height. These findings indicate that although the transgenic soybean varieties did not strongly affect insect populations, weed management systems can affect insect populations in soybean. However, this impact is likely related more to weed suppression effectiveness than to a direct effect of the herbicides on the insects.

Soybean Cyst Nematode Reproduction in the North Central United States.

An experiment was conducted in Heterodera glycines-infested fields in 40 north central U.S. environments (21 sites in 1994 and 19 sites in 1995) to assess reproduction of this nematode. Two resistant and two susceptible soybean cultivars from each of the maturity groups (MG) I through IV were grown at each site in 6.1 m by 4 row plots. Soil samples were collected from each plot at planting and harvest and processed at Iowa State University to determine H. glycines initial (Pi) and final (Pf) population densities as eggs per 100 cm3 of soil. Overall, reproduction (Pf/Pi) of H. glycines on susceptible cultivars in all MG was similar. Reproduction was higher on MG III and IV susceptible cultivars than on those in MG I and II. Resistant MG I and II cultivars reduced nematode population densities more consistently than those in MG III and IV. Reproduction of the nematode was similar among sites within the same maturity zone (MZ), defined as the areas of best adaptation of the corresponding MG. Nonetheless, careful monitoring of nematode population densities is necessary to assess changes that occur over time in individual fields.

Soybean Brown Stem Rot, Phytophthora sojae, and Heterodera glycines Affected by Soil Texture and Tillage Relations.

ABSTRACT Investigations were conducted to determine whether the effects of tillage practices on the prevalence of brown stem rot of soybean (caused by Phialophora gregata), Heterodera glycines, and Phytophthora sojae were confounded by soil texture in samples collected in the fall of 1995 and 1996. Soil and soybean stem samples, along with tillage information, were collected from 1,462 randomly selected fields in Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, and Ohio in collaboration with the National Agricultural Statistics Service. The incidence of brown stem rot was determined from 20 soybean stem pieces collected from each field in a zigzag pattern. The detection frequency of P. sojae (expressed as percent leaf disks colonized) and population densities of H. glycines were determined from soil cores also collected in a zigzag pattern. The soil samples were grouped into various textural classes, and the effect of soil texture and tillage relations on the activities of each pathogen were determined. Both tillage and soil texture affected the incidence of brown stem rot; however, there was no interaction between tillage and soil texture. Conservation tillage had a greater (P < 0.05) incidence of brown stem rot in clay loam and silty clay loam than did conventional tillage. The detection frequency of P. sojae was not affected by tillage, but a tillage x texture interaction (P = 0.013) indicated that the effect of tillage depended on soil texture. There was a greater (P < 0.05) detection frequency of P. sojae in conservation tillage than in conventional tillage in silt loam and loam soils. However, in sandy loam, the detection frequency of P. sojae was greater (P = 0.0099) in conventional tillage than in conservation tillage. Population densities of H. glycines were significantly affected by both tillage and soil texture, but overall, there was no tillage x texture interaction. There was an inverse relationship between population densities of H. glycines and percent clay (r = -0.81, P = 0.01) in no-till fields, but little or no change in nematode densities was observed with increasing clay content in tilled fields. Population densities of H. glycines were less (P < 0.05) in no-till fields than in tilled fields in silty clay loam and clay soils. There was no difference in H. glycines densities between the tillage categories in soils sandier than silty clay loam or clay. The findings emphasize the need for cautious interpretation of the effects of tillage practices on diseases and pathogens in the absence of information on soil texture.

Regional Assessment of Soybean Brown Stem Rot, Phytophthora sojae, and Heterodera glycines Using Area-Frame Sampling: Prevalence and Effects of Tillage.

ABSTRACT The prevalence of brown stem rot (caused by Phialophora gregata), Heterodera glycines, and Phytophthora sojae in the north central United States was investigated during the fall of 1995 and 1996. Soybean fields were randomly selected using an area-frame sampling design in collaboration with the National Agricultural Statistics Service. Soil and soybean stem samples, along with tillage information, were collected from 1,462 fields in Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, and Ohio. An additional 275 soil samples collected from Indiana were assessed for H. glycines. For each field, the incidence and prevalence of brown stem rot was assessed in 20 soybean stem pieces. The prevalence and recovery (expressed as the percentage of leaf disks colonized) of P. sojae and the prevalence and population densities of H. glycines were determined from the soil samples. The prevalence of brown stem rot ranged from 28% in Missouri to 73% in Illinois; 68 and 72% of the fields in Minnesota and Iowa, respectively, showed symptomatic samples. The incidence of brown stem rot was greater in conservation-till than in conventional-till fields in all states except Minnesota, which had few no-till fields. P. sojae was detected in two-thirds of the soybean fields in Ohio and Minnesota, whereas 63, 55, and 41% of the fields in Iowa, Missouri, and Illinois, respectively, were infested with the pathogen. The recovery rates of P. sojae were significantly greater (P

Effect of Tillage Practices on Vertical Distribution of Phytophthora sojae.

The vertical distribution of Phytophthora sojae was investigated in soil samples collected in the spring of 1994 from soybean fields at 62 locations in Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, and Minnesota. In the fall of 1995, soil samples were collected from 18 additional locations in Illinois and Iowa. Each location consisted of a pair of no-till and conventional-till fields, and soil samples were collected from arbitrarily selected locations in each field at 0- to 7.5-cm and 7.5- to 15-cm depths. Separate intensive sampling was made in the spring of 1995 from two pairs of adjacent no-till and conventional-till fields at the Iowa State University Northeast Research Farm, in which samples were collected from 0- to 30-cm depth in increments of 5 cm. Samples were assayed for P. sojae with the use of a leaf-disk bioassay. In the 1994 regional samples, there was greater recovery of P. sojae (P ≤ 0.05) at 0- to 7.5-cm depth in the no-till samples than in the conventional-till samples for all states except Minnesota. The fall 1995 samples from Illinois followed a similar trend (P = 0.05); whereas samples from Iowa showed no significant difference between tillage systems. At depths greater than 7.5 cm, there was generally no difference in detection frequency of P. sojae between tillage systems. Samples from the Northeast Research Farm followed patterns of vertical distribution similar to those of the regional samples. In no-till fields, the detection frequency of P. sojae was greatest near the soil surface; two to three times greater than that of the conventional-till fields at this depth. In the conventional-till fields, however, the frequency of recovery peaked at 20 cm and was comparable at these depths to those of no-till fields. There was a positive correlation between the percentage of leaf disks colonized and residue dry weights in the no-till fields (r = 0.84, P = 0.04; and r = 0.86, P = 0.03) but not in the conventional-till fields (r = -0.06, P = 0.90; and r = -0.60, P = 0.17). The recovery of P. sojae in greater frequency near the soil surface in no-till fields than in conventional-till fields suggests that the potential for damping-off may be greater in no-till fields than in conventional-till fields.