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Dry weather and disease could drive Soybean Cyst Nematode surge in 2026

Dry conditions and disease pressure are expected to increase soybean cyst nematode populations going into 2026.

BASF seed treatment product manager Jeremiah Mullock says areas of late season drought are favorable for SCN reproduction.

“And so we’ll see areas where that nematode population is probably higher than we would’ve expected. Conversely, we’ve also seen areas where SDS has started to show up. In those areas we know that SDS and SCN are kind of linked together.”

He tells Brownfield SCN feeding typically makes Sudden Death Syndrome injury worse.

“So it’s kind of the worst of both scenarios when you think of SCN and the challenge that it presents to continuing to grow high-yielding soybeans.”

Mullock encourages growers to take fall soil samples to identify SCN presence and levels.