Research

SCN-Resistant Soybean Varieties

There are hundreds of SCN-resistant soybean varieties available to Iowa soybean farmers. These varieties vary greatly in their agronomic productivity as well as their ability to control the soybean cyst nematode (SCN).  The largest project in the Tylka research laboratory annually evaluates SCN-resistant varieties for yield and effects on SCN population densities. This work is funded by the soybean checkoff through a grant from the Iowa Soybean Association.

Nematode-protectant seed treatments

In the late 2000s, nematode-protectant seed treatments were introduced as a new management tool for SCN.  Currently there are at least four such seed treatments and each product has a vastly different active ingredient and mode of action than the others.

Interactions of SCN with other pests and pathogens

The soybean cyst nematode (SCN) is very damaging in its own right. But it also affects and is affected by other soybean pathogens and pests.  Work in the Tylka research laboratory has studied the effects of SCN on infection of soybeans by the soil-borne fungi Phialophora gregata (causal agent of brown stem rot) and Fusarium virguliforme (causal agent of sudden death syndrome).