Project Overview

Reports

Commodities

• Agronomic: soybeans

Target Pests

Practices

• Pest Management: biological control, biorational pesticides, chemical control, cultivation, cultural control, forecasting, genetic resistance, host resistance, monitoring/scouting, weather monitoring

• Crop Production: cover crops, crop improvement and selection, crop rotation, double cropping, plant breeding and genetics

Red crown rot, caused by the soilborne fungus Calonectria ilicicola, is a new and emerging soybean disease in the North Central soybean region. Since 2021, this disease has already contributed to significant yield loss (>256 thousand bu) in U. S. soybean. Red crown rot is particularly challenging because its symptoms can resemble those of other well-known soybean diseases, making accurate identification difficult for soybean farmers and industry representatives. As this disease continues to expand to new states, there is an urgent need for improved awareness, diagnostic capacity, and coordinated integrated pest management strategies to minimize economic losses in North Central’s soybean. To address this problem, we propose to establish a new North Central IPM working group – Red Crown Rot Working Group – that will bring together farmers, university scientists, soybean commodity groups, and agricultural industry personnel to help enhance communication and collaboration to ensure a rapid response to this emerging disease within the region. The main objectives of the working group will include 1) Host an in-season field tour of red crown rot field sites to observe ongoing red crown rot trials, facilitate shared learning on disease development and management responses under varying environmental and soil conditions; 2) Establish a multidisciplinary working group that will engage with soybean farmers, industry representatives, and extension personnel to discuss research and outreach goals and activities; and 3) Enable the exchange of research protocols, diagnostic tools, and outreach materials to strengthen regional consistency in data collection and stakeholder communication. By the end of this project, we anticipate to establish an active working group to be better equipped to recognize and accurately diagnose red crown rot in the field, distinguish it from other diseases with similar symptoms, and understand the critical features necessary for proper identification. The collaborative process will result in the development of standardized, region-wide diagnostic and management protocols and the identification of areas needing further research. Importantly, we will ensure that information, tools, and protocols are widely disseminated through established platforms like the Crop Protection Network, that is currently supporting the national tracking of red crown rot’s distribution and development of extension resources. Ultimately, this project will help safeguard soybean yields, enhance communication and collaboration among agricultural stakeholders, and contribute to the long-term sustainability of soybean production in the North Central region.

Objective 1. Host an in-season field tour of red crown rot field sites to observe ongoing red crown rot trials, facilitate shared learning on disease development, and management responses under varying environmental and soil conditions. Participants will observe in-season signs and typical symptoms of red crown rot in soybean, as well as key diagnostic characteristics that distinguish this disease from others with similar symptoms. In addition, experts in this pathosystem in peanut will be invited to share their experiences and knowledge.

Objective 2. Establish a multidisciplinary working group that will engage with soybean farmers, industry representatives, and extension personnel to discuss research and outreach goals and activities. A working group representing a broad geography of soybean production in the U. S. will be assembled. The first group meeting will represent plant pathologists and agronomists involved in soybean production that have either identified red crown rot in their state previously or are in outlying states that are at risk. Many of the working group members are members of NCERA-137 and have participated in previous disease initiatives/coalitions in soybean, such as soybean rust (caused by Phakopsora pachyrhizi) and soybean cyst nematode (caused by Heterodera glycines) as two examples. 

Objective 3. Enable the exchange of research protocols, diagnostic tools, and outreach materials to strengthen regional consistency in data collection and stakeholder communication. The group will share and discuss current needs and gaps on research protocols, diagnostic tools, and outreach material available on red crown rot of soybean. This will aid in the continued mapping effort of red crown rot in the U.S. using the already established map on CPN.