Soybean SDS Control

I have been asked “should I be using a seed treatment to prevent against sudden death syndrome (SDS) on my soybean seed?” several times over the last few weeks. At the prices of soybeans today it takes just a little over one bushel of beans to add the peace of mind to protect against SDS and have added control of soybean cyst nematodes. There are two products that offer this control, Saltro or Ilevo. Both products work well in the prevention of SDS; however, Saltro does not have the halo effect on soybeans that its only competitor Ilevo has.

If a field is infected with SDS, yield of the affected areas can be reduced by 50% or even more, depending on the severity of the disease pressure and what stage of maturity soybeans are when SDS shows symptoms. SDS starts early in the development of a soybean plant, but shows no symptoms until late in a bean’s lifecycle. It Is typically caused from cool, wet soil conditions at planting and in the early stages of growth, while often targeting well managed fields with the highest yield potentials. Ilevo and Saltro both help soybeans with the control of cyst nematodes that are often present in heavily infected SDS fields.

With the uncertainty of Iowa weather, and being in the 20 year cycle of variability in our weather patterns, it is difficult for forecasters to predict what will happen throughout a growing season. One bushel of soybeans is a cheap investment to protect against SDS and help fight off soybean cyst nematodes in your soybean fields.

Talk to your local SFG agronomist to get SDS control added to your soybean seed today.