Southern Missouri soybean producers will have two new varieties to select from for the 2007 growing season. The Missouri Agricultural Experiment Station recently announced the release of Jake, a conventional mid-Group 5 cultivar, and Stoddard, a conventional late Group 4 cultivar.

Both varieties have excellent yield potential and broad resistance to soybean cyst nematode, or SCN, a parasitic roundworm that feeds on soybean roots and can cause up to 30 percent yield loss without noticeable symptoms, said Grover Shannon, University of Missouri agronomist and leader of the soybean breeding program at the MU Delta Research Center in Portageville, Mo.

“Most of today’s SCN-resistant beans, around 90 percent, all trace their resistance to the same source, but Jake and Stoddard get their resistance from a different source,” he said. “As SCN races shift, this provides greater protection.”

Named in honor of Jake Fisher, a 45-year University of Missouri employee and current Delta Center superintendent, Jake is a replacement for the variety Anand, Shannon said.

“It equaled Anand’s performance on loam soils, but it has averaged about 7 bushels more per acre on clay and sand in Missouri tests, for a mean yield of 58.6 bushels per acre during five years of field trials,” he said. “Jake also has been superior to Anand in trials in Mississippi, Arkansas and Tennessee.”

Jake has shown resistance to SCN Races 1, 2, 3, 5 and 14, resistance to reniform nematode, and moderate resistance to southern root-knot nematode, stem canker and sudden death syndrome. It is susceptible to phytophthora root rot, but has shown good tolerance to this disease under field conditions.

“It would be a good choice for following rice on heavy clay soils, as well as a good choice on sandy soils where root-knot nematode is a problem,” Shannon said. “Although reniform nematode isn’t a problem in Missouri, Jake’s resistance makes it a good choice for reducing reniform populations, making cotton more productive in the South.”

Like Jake, the new variety Stoddard shows broad resistance to soybean cyst nematode and moderate resistance to southern root-knot nematode, sudden death syndrome and stem canker. It is susceptible to phytophthora root rot, but it has performed well on heavy clays where phytophthora is often a problem.

“Stoddard has displayed about a 10 percent better yield performance than the variety Manokin,” Shannon said. “In southeast Missouri tests, it has averaged 3 to 6 bushels per acre more than Manokin across all soil types, with a mean yield of 57.2 bushels per acre.”

Both Jake and Stoddard will be in certified production in 2006 and available to producers in 2007. For more information on availability for 2007 production, contact Rick Hofen at Missouri Foundation Seed at (573) 884-7333 or Rich Arnett at the Missouri Crop Improvement Association at (573) 449-0586. These conventional varieties do not carry herbicide resistance traits.

Soybean breeding research at the Delta Center has been funded in part by the Missouri Soybean Merchandising Council, the United Soybean Board and the U.S. Department of Agriculture through a special grant for soybean cyst nematode research.

Jason L. Jenkins is Senior Information Specialist, Extension & Ag Information, University of Missouri. e-mail: [email protected]