October is Soybean Cyst Nematode Action Month
October is Soybean Cyst Nematode Action Month and BASF and the SCN coalition are teaming up to share information with farmers about this pest. Michael McCarville, trait technology lead at BASF, simply stated how common this pest really is.
"The reality is we want growers to understand that SCN is present in the vast majority of fields," McCarville said.
With that in mind, McCarville explained that SCN Action Month is an opportunity to actively manage this pest.
"Today, 99% of what's grown in the Midwest is an SCN-resistant variety. So passively, a farmer, most of the time is going to be picking a PID-78 variety because that's about 85% of the seed catalogs. But we know that's just not cutting it anymore. Craig Tilka's lab just published a paper this month that shows the average yield loss we're looking at come the end of this decade is around 9 bushels an acre or over 10% yield if we just passively manage the pest and we keep growing PID-78. So I would tell a farmer, spend 5 to 10 minutes talking to your agronomist about what can I do to actively manage this," McCarville said.
BASF has their official launch for Nemasphere in 2028 but there may be an opportunity for farmers to get their hands on some seed in 2027.
"So we're going to be able to provide seed to farmers to plant and try out in 2027 ahead of the 2028 commercial launch. So farmers are interested in SCN issues. I would encourage them to go to Nemasphere.com, learn more about the trait, ask for information there, follow up and get signed up in the opportunity to join in some of those on-farm trials for 2027 so they can get a sneak peek at the trait and the varieties that will be coming out," McCarville said.
To learn more visit nemasphere.com.
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