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Is that really SDS in your soybean fields?

A southern Illinois agronomist says some recent reports of sudden death syndrome in soybeans have turned out to be other diseases.

Nick Frederking with AgriGold tells Brownfield, farmers in his region have been noticing more SDS symptoms as harvest approaches.

“Sudden death syndrome is only one of the pathogens that show that interveinal chlorosis. There are a couple of other diseases out there that show the same symptoms as SDS and those are stem canker, brown stem rot and a new one is red crown rot.”

He says it is important to get out in the field and determine which disease it is by using in-field diagnostic tools or sending samples to a lab.

“There is some thought today that the SDS pathogen may be starting a root rot decay and some of these other diseases could be piggy-backing their way into the plant, exaggerating those symptoms.”

He says pinpointing the disease and assessing a field’s history can help farmers choose seed varieties and treatments to help prevent it next season.