Distribution, Density, and Diversity of Heterodera glycines in Missouri.

Between May, 1988, and July, 1992, the University of Missouri Plant Nematode Diagnostic Laboratory collected data on Heterodera glycines populations in Missouri by offering diagnostic services to soybean farmers. A greenhouse bioassay (free), egg count ($10/sample), and race determination test ($25) were conducted by request on soil samples submitted to the lab. Each test was offered for a specific purpose: the bioassay for fields not known to be infested; the egg count for population monitoring in fields with known infestations; and the race test for fields with a history of resistant cultivars. Of 818 samples submitted for bioassay on a H. glycines-susceptible soybean cultivar, 13 (1.6%) contained brown cysts but no white females, and 364 (45%) contained white females after 35 days in the greenhouse. Of 6,193 egg counts, 39% were either free of H. glycines or contained fewer than 500 eggs/250 cm(3) soil, the action threshold for Missouri. The remaining 61% ranged from 500-400,000 eggs/250 cm(3) soil (mean = 10,617). Eleven races were detected, with races 3 (45%) and 1 (23%) the most common. The data show that H. glycines is widespread in Missouri (with confirmed infestations in 80 of 114 counties), that most infested fields have population densities above the action threshold, and that there is considerable genetic diversity among H. glycines field populations.