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Defeating sudden death syndrome in soybean with soil analysis research
By Southern Illinois University
Researchers led by Ahmad Fakhoury, associate professor of plant pathology and fungal genetics at Southern Illinois University Carbondale analyzed soil samples from 45 soybean fields in Illinois, Iowa and Minnesota. They collected samples from symptomatic patches in fields and from adjacent areas where soybean sudden death syndrome (SDS) foliar symptoms did not develop. Fakhoury’s team compared microbial populations in the “healthy” and “diseased” soil to correlate the presence incidence and severity of SDS.
This unique method of analysis found significant differences in the bacterial and fungal community structures between healthy and diseased areas of fields, suggesting the relative abundance of multiple microbial taxia in the soil as a key determinant in the incidence of SDS.| READ MORE
