Search

A filamentous, nonsporulating fungus, designated Arkansas Fungus 18 (ARF18), was isolated from 9 of 95 populations of Heterodera glycines, the soybean cyst nematode, in Arkansas. In petri dishes, ARF18 parasitized 89% of H. glycines eggs in cysts. The fungus also infected eggs of Meloidogyne incognita and eggs in cysts of Cactodera betulae, H. graminophila, H. lespedezae, H. leuceilyma, H. schachtii, and H. trifolii. In pot tests, reproduction of SCN was 70% less in untreated field soil that was naturally infested by ARF18 than in autoclaved field soil. Although ARF18 grew well at 25 C on cornmeal agar over a wide pH range, it did not sporulate on 28 media and thus could not be identified to genus or species.

Dry alginate-clay pellets containing mycelium of ARF18 were added to sandy soil in greenhouse tests to determine the formulation's efficacy in the suppression of Heterodera glycines. Pellet formulation variables included quantity of mycelium per pellet (0.0-3.9%), pellet size (2.3 or 8.3 mg), pellet application rate per unit soil (0.4 or 1.0% based on dry soil weight), and pellet storage (0 or 90 days). All of these variables affected efficacy. Nematode suppression was greatest (95%) with 8.3 mg pellets containing 3.9% mycelium that were not stored and applied at the rate of 1.0% of dry soil weight. Storage for 90 days reduced the efficacy of the pellets. The soybean cultivars tested were not equally good hosts of H. glycines, but reproduction of the nematode was reduced equally on all. The average suppression was 96% (range 86-99%). Similar suppression of reproduction occurred in tests with six races of H. glycines. ARF18 appeared to be nonspecific with regard to soybean cultivar and H. glycines race.

A total of 62 populations of Heterodera glycines were collected in 10 states along the Mississippi and Missouri rivers, and 206 populations were collected in Arkansas. Among the 62 populations, races 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 9, and 14 were found south of 37 degrees N latitude, and races 1 and 3 were found north of 37 degrees N latitude. In Arkansas samples, races 2, 4, 5, 6, 9, and 14 comprised 87% of the populations. In both groups of samples, H. glycines populations with genes that enabled the population to parasitize cv. Pickett occurred the most frequently, followed by those with genes for parasitism of cv. Peking, then PI88.788, and the fewest with genes for parasitism of PI90.763. The diversity of races in this study raises questions about the effectiveness of race-specific cultivars for the management of soybean cyst nematodes. The greater diversity of races of H. glycines in the southern United States may be because of a longer history of planting resistant cultivars.

The effects of 22 pesticides on the mycelial growth and pathogenicity of the biocontrol fungus ARFI8 to Heterodera glycines were tested in vitro. The chemicals were added to agar at 10, 100, and 1,000 ppm a.i.; a block of agar containing the fungus was added to each test concentration; and fungal growth was measured. Subsequently, a block of the fungus on the pesticide-containing agar was used to determine the ability of the fungus to parasitize eggs of H. glycines. Aldicarb, bentazone, and chlorothalonil had little or no effect on fungal growth, whereas benomyl and thiophanate methyl completely inhibited growth of the fungus at 10 ppm. The relative insensitivity of ARF18 to certain pesticides would permit selected use of those pesticides with ARF18 in an integrated control program if the effects on the fungus in the field are similar to results from petri dish studies.