Although the "Green Stem Disorder" effect on soybean yields has not been established, it is a problem that complicates soybean harvesting and has increasingly become a nuisance for soybean producers. When encountered in the field at harvest time, producers often leave patches affected by the disorder uncut until frost eventually kills the stems.

The cause of the "Green Stem Disorder" is unknown, however, we have found that fungicide application can increase the incidence of green stem disorder, especially on cultivars sensitive to the disorder, suggesting that fungi are involved in the disorder. We have also found that the plant pathogenic fungi causing anthracnose and charcoal rot...