2014
Managing Sclerotinia white mold in soybean with Contans
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Contributor/Checkoff:
North Dakota Soybean Council
Category:
Sustainable Production
Keywords:
Crop protectionDiseaseField management
Parent Project:
Managing Sclerotinia in soybean with Contans and Sporidesmium sclerotivorum
Lead Principal Investigator:
Michael Wunsch, North Dakota State University
Co-Principal Investigators:
Billy Kraft, North Dakota State University
Michael Schaefer, North Dakota State University
+1 More
Project Code:
Contributing Organization (Checkoff):
North Dakota Soybean Council
(n/a)
Institution Funded:
North Dakota State University
(n/a)
Brief Project Summary:

Due to its unique biology, Sclerotinia stem rot (white mold) is a particularly good target for biological control. Unlike most fungal plant pathogens, Sclerotinia sclerotiorum, the fungus that causes Sclerotinia stem rot, does not produce spores on diseased tissues.
spores of S. sclerotiorum are produced only from apothecia (tiny mushroom-like structures) produced from sclerotia (black resting structures) of the fungus in the soil.

Sclerotinia stem rot develops when sclerotia in the soil germinate to produce apothecia and when the spores produced by apothecia infect plant tissues. Consequently, by reducing the number of viable sclerotia in the soil, applications of biological control...

Unique Keywords:
#contans?wg, #sclerotinia sclerotiorum, #sclerotinia white mold, #soybean diseases
Information And Results
Project Deliverables

The objective of this project is to evaluate the efficacy of Contans at low (1 lb/ac) and high (2 lbs/ac) application rates, assess whether Contans is best applied to the soil in the fall or the spring and identify whether Contans must be incorporated into the soil and, if so, which incorporation method (water vs. mechanical) is optimal.

Final Project Results

Results from this project strongly suggest that Contans has efficacy against Sclerotinia, but the yield response and economics associated with using Contans for Sclerotinia control remain unclear. To rigorously evaluate the economics of using Contans, testing is being conducted in very large plots (1.16 acres per plot) in 2013-14. The large plots should permit a rigorous evaluation of the efficacy of Contans even if the density of sclerotia in the soil is low, and it should permit the evaluation of treatment effects with minimal confounding influence of wind-blown spores.

The study is expected to improve the profitability of soybean production in North Dakota – particularly soybeans grown under irrigation –through rigorous, research-based recommendations on the use of Contans as a tool for managing Sclerotinia.

The United Soybean Research Retention policy will display final reports with the project once completed but working files will be purged after three years. And financial information after seven years. All pertinent information is in the final report or if you want more information, please contact the project lead at your state soybean organization or principal investigator listed on the project.