Evaluation of Pea and Soybean as Trap Crops for Managing Heterodera glycines

Trap crops that stimulate nematode egg hatching but not reproduction have been reported as an effective means for managing certain nematodes. Studies were carried out at two field sites each year in 1998 and 1999 to evaluate the potential of trapping the soybean cyst nematode (Heterodera glycines) with soybean and pea in the corn year to manage the nematode in Minnesota. The trap crops were planted on the same day as corn at each site and later killed with the herbicide glyphosate. Nematode egg densities were determined at planting, 1 and 2 months after planting, and at harvest. Treatments included four seeding rates (0, 124,000, 247,000, and 494,000 seeds/ha) of resistant soybean as a trap crop and four kill dates (3, 4, 5, and 6 weeks after planting). No effects of the trap-crop and kill-date treatments on H. glycines population density, corn yield, and the followingyear soybean yield were observed at the two locations. In a second study, the experiment included four trap-crop comparisons (resistant soybean at 494,000 seeds/ha, susceptible soybean at 494,000 seeds/ha, pea at 1,482,000 seeds/ha, and no trap crop) and five kill dates (3, 4, 5, 6 weeks after planting, and no-kill). At the Waseca site, egg density at harvest was lower where resistant soybean was grown for 6 weeks and where pea was grown for 5 and 6 weeks compared with where no trap crop was grown. Maintaining pea plants for more than 5 weeks, however, reduced corn yield by 20% at the Waseca site. At the Lamberton site, egg density at harvest was lower where the susceptible soybean was grown for 5 weeks compared with where no trap crop was grown. Even with significant reduction of eggs in some treatments, use of soybean and pea as trap crops in the corn year was not an effective means for managing H. glycines.