Field Response of Soybean in Maturity Groups III-V to Heterodera glycines in Kansas

Soybean cultivars from maturity groups III-V were grown in Heterodera glycines-infested locations in northeastern and southeastern Kansas from 1991 through 1994. Yield performance and nematode reproduction were significantly (P <0.01) affected by host response to H. glycines and year, whereas effects of cultivars within host response categories and cultivar x year interactions were generally negligible. In northeastern Kansas, H. glycines-susceptible cultivars from maturity groups III-IV yielded 8% less than resistant cultivars across years, whereas in southeastern Kansas, susceptible cultivars from maturity groups IV-V yielded 38% less than resistant cultivars across years. Analyses of yield components suggested that number of pods per plant accounted for most of the differences in seed yields. Heterodera glycines reproduction rates (final population density/initial population density) averaged 0.7 and 1.3 for resistant cultivars and 8.7 and 15.9 for susceptible cultivars in northeastern and southeastern locations, respectively. Results indicated that the relative performance of resistant and susceptible cultivars can be reliably predicted based on preplant egg densities across most environments in eastern Kansas.