• Identification of the different fungal species that cause seedling diseases and root rot of soybean. There is a huge demand for this information in the industry. The seed and seed treatment companies want to know what pathogens are most commonly found and which cause the most severe disease so the can appropriately target with chemicals and/or resistant varieties.
• Determining the relative importance of these fungal species in the different soybean growing regions and how the aggressiveness of these pathogens is affected by environmental conditions.
• Completion of the collection of characterized isolates of pathogens that cause seedling diseases. This collection will help to validate the use of culture-independent techniques to generate profiles of pathogens inhabiting soils and soybean seedlings from fields with high incidence of seedling diseases.
• Identification of field conditions (moisture, temperature and chemical properties) that favor seedling diseases.
• Diagnostic tools that will aid in diagnosing problem fields and aid other research endeavors by public and private researchers.
• Development of management strategies and to assess current production practices as they relate to seedling diseases.
• Establishment of efficient inoculation and disease assessment protocols.
• Development of a national extension publication on identification and management of seedling diseases. This will be available as a traditional fact sheet, and digitally as an ebook that combines audio and video.

1. A major review meeting of the USDA/CAP oomycete project was held March 2014 and results were communicated including those researchers on this Seedling Disease project where there are mutual objectives. A promised report detailing the coordination between these two groups is forthcoming.
2. The collection and survey among 12 states for fungal pathogens that cause seedling blight has been completed, in conjunction with significant leveraging with a USDA Oomycte CAP project.
Of the nearly 100 different species collected, 13 appear to be pathogenic (really cause disease), some of which were previously unrecognized as a cause of seedling blight. Each of the 13 pathogens varies in their effect according to geographic region, which may have bearing how future seed treatments are designed.
3. As part of the above survey, diagnostic tools have been developed for each of the 13 pathogenic species to identify them in infected soybean plants.
4. Procedures are being developed to create inoculum that can be used in a variety screening program.
5. Outreach programs have been developed from the lessons learned above and shared in over 50 extension programs in 2014 in 8 Midwest states. Also, a fungicide (seed treatment) efficacy table has been put together for public use.
6. Milestones were reached beyond those listed as their 5 KPIs:
• Fusarium tricinctum confirmed as a pathogen of soybean.
• 15 lines identified showing partial resistance to Rhizoctonia solani
• The range of soil temperature and soil pH levels that are most favorable for several species of Fusarium and Pythium were determined – as indicator of the type of environment or habitat they favor.