Farmers conducting soil testing this spring are also encouraged to sample for Soybean Cyst Nematode (SCN).
Nathan Schroeder (SHROH-der), nematologist at the University of Illinois, says SCN is the leading cause of soybean yield loss..
“A lot of times, farmers don’t know that they have a problem above ground,” he says. “The plants look good; they look healthy and it’s really just directly hitting that yield. So, you have green, healthy tissue, but you’re getting less beans at the end of the season.”
He tells Brownfield the first step in combatting the disease is knowing there’s a problem…
“Go out into your field, collect samples, you send it off to us, and then we’ll run those samples for you,” he says.
