UW Soybean Plant Health
About BSR
BSR Symptoms
BSR-resistant varieties
Management
Tillage and Residue Management
Crop Rotation
Soil Fertility and BSR
Row Width and Planting Date
Shortened corn-soybean rotations have created a need for soybean varieties resistant to brown stem rot. These varieties are an important component of crop management plans designed to maximize soybean yield and are the foundation of any plan to manage brown stem rot.
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BSR-soybean variety trials at the University of Wisconsin |
Brown stem rot resistant varieties have yielded better than Corsoy 79 and other susceptible varieties in locations with a history of brown stem rot (Table 1).
The difference in yield between resistant and susceptible varieties will fluctuate from year to year and is greatest in high yield potential environments. Cultural practices can supplement the contribution of soybean variety in minimizing losses due to brown stem rot.
Availability of BSR-resistant varieties
The release of soybean varieties resistant to brown stem rot has opened new avenues of flexibility for farmers experiencing problems with this disease. An increasing number of soybean varieties are becoming available to farmers and it appears more will be released in the near future from public and private soybean breeders.
Each year, the performance of soybean varieties in the presence of brown stem rot are included in Wisconsin soybean variety trials. Data is published annually in the Wisconsin Soybean Variety Test Results (UW Extension Bulletin A3654). The publication is available free from your Wisconsin county Extension office or from the Department of Agronomy, 1575 Linden Dr., Madison, Wisconsin 53706. Phone (608) 262-1390. Or view results online at Wisconsin Soybean Variety Trial Results (link to UW Agronomy Extension).
The release of soybean varieties which are resistant to more than one disease have provided more flexibility for farmers experiencing problems with disease in shorter rotations. Soybean varieties are available with effective resistance to BSR, Phytophthora root rot and soybean cyst nematode.
| Table 1. Disease reaction and yield of selected soybean varieties grown in fields infested with the brown stem rot pathogen. | ||
| Soybean variety | Brown stem rot severity * | Yield (bu/a) |
| IA 2008 | 2 | 47 |
| Archer | 3 | 44 |
| BSR 101 | 3 | 46 |
| Century 84 | 78 | 33 |
| Elgin 87 | 83 | 38 |
| Corsoy 79 | 107 | 37 |
| Hardin | 139 | 39 |
| Newton | 126 | 29 |
| LSD at P=0.10 | +/- 7 | +/- 3 |
| *BSR severity is expressed as the area under the disease progress curve, an estimate of the amount and rate of BSR in a field over an entire season. Data represent 8 location years (1988-1995, 1992-93 at 2 locations). | ||
Durability of BSR Resistance
Because resistance to BSR in most soybean germplasm is conferred by a single gene, there is some concern about the durability of resistance against potentially new strains of P. gregata. Consequently, we are hesitant to recommend the total conversion to BSR-resistant varieties.
The yield potential of BSR-resistant soybean varieties has been improved in recent releases, making them more acceptable even if BSR is not considered a major problem. This creates a temptation to plant BSR -resistant varieties in environments with a low BSR potential. We discourage this practice for reasons stated above. Instead, we propose to expand the concept of crop rotation to include the rotation of soybean varieties in the soybean year of a rotation sequence.
Information from this site can be copied and distributed for educational use. Please credit the source with our name and URL: University of Wisconsin-Madison, Departments of Agronomy, Entomology, and Plant Pathology at www.plantpath.wisc.edu/soyhealth.
11/08