An extension nematologist says for reasons unknown dryness leads to higher soybean cyst nematode pressure.
Greg Tylka with Iowa State University tells Brownfield that’s bad news for farmers impacted by the drought.
“Every time drought conditions develop, for some reason that we haven’t out, reproduction is increased. So in a normal year where we might end up with a final egg count of 5,000 eggs per half-a-cup of soil, in a drought year that would be 10 or 15,000 eggs per half-a-cup of soil.”
He says more eggs means more potential for crop damage in future years, beginning with acres rotated back to soybeans in 2023.
