Soybean cyst nematode (SCN) has been around since 1954, yet it still claims the spot as the No.1 soybean pest in the U.S. Why? SCN-resistant varieties are no longer as effective as they used to be due to overreliance on a single source of genetic resistance, PI88788. In addition, one nematode can result in 1.6 billion eggs in a season and up to 40 percent in yield loss with no above-ground symptoms.

Bruce Battles, Seedcare technology manager at Syngenta, took the stage at Farm Progress Show to advise growers on what they can do to take control of SCN.

Four essential SCN management practices:

• Rotate soybeans with non-host crops.
• Plant SCN-resistant varieties.
• Try to plant varieties with different sources of genetic resistance.
• Apply a seed treatment with a nematicide.

Growers can enhance their SCN-resistant varieties with a seed treatment, like Clariva^® Complete Beans seed treatment, a combination of separately registered products.

Clariva Complete Beans provides season-long direct, lethal activity against SCN, reducing SCN feeding and reproduction. Effective in all environmental conditions, it offers an attractive return on investment through four main benefits:

• Yield increase from season-long protection against SCN
• Enhancement of SCN-resistant varieties
• Reduced SDS damage
• Better long-term SCN management

Clariva Complete Beans includes the active ingredient, Pasteuria nishizawae, which releases spores that attach to the nematode (shown above), ultimately killing it.

Until new sources of genetic resistance come to market, growers must diversify their management programs with revolutionary modes of action like that of Clariva Complete Beans.

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All photos are either the property of Syngenta or are used with permission.