New soybean could be resistant to soybean rust
By Diego Flammini, Farms.com
Research out of Champaign, Illinois is producing soybean plants that are resistant to soybean rust and other diseases that affect soybeans.
Ram Singh, who works in the Soybean/Maize Germplasm, Pathology and Genetics Research unit at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, has combined the Glycine max soybean variety and Glycine tomentella, a wild Australian perennial that grows like a weed.
"There are 26 wild species of Glycine perennials that grow in Australia," Singh said. One species, Glycine tomentella, was of particular interest because it has genes for resistance to soybean rust and to soybean cyst nematode.”
Soybean cyst nematode (SCN) is a small roundworm that attacks the soybeans at their roots. Above-ground symptoms of soybean plants affected by the SCN include circular or oval-shaped areas of stunted, yellowed and less vigorous plants.
Underground symptoms of possible SCN activity include roots that appear dwarfed or stunted.
The appearance of adult females on the roots are a sure-fire way of telling if a plant is infected with the pests. The adult females are tiny and lemon-shaped. They start out as white but turn yellow and finally brown as they continue to mature.
Soybean rust is an aggressive disease that can cause yield losses ranging from 10 – 80%. It was first detected in the United States in 2004.
Symptoms of soybean rust include lesions that appear as odd-shaped spots. As the disease progresses, lesions will get larger and will appear tan to dark red in color.
Join the conversation and tell us your thoughts about the new soybeans that could be resistant to soybean rust and soybean cyst nematode. If you’re able to purchase them, would you?