AMES, Iowa — The Iowa Soybean Research Center’s (ISRC) Industry Advisory Council (IAC) met in September for its annual meeting to consider proposed soybean research ideas and to offer guidance on how to best invest $380,000 in available new funding. 

Based on the IAC’s recommendations, the ISRC funded two new soybean research projects and provided an additional year of funding for two continuing projects, described below.

New Projects

Using AI to decode SCN effector functions to engineer durable soybean resistance
Thomas Baum, and co-Principal Investigator (PI) Steve Whitham, plant pathology, entomology and microbiology, will investigate key effector functions of SCN and define the structural and dynamic features of effector interaction interfaces. This research seeks to reveal critical points of vulnerability within the SCN pathosystem, prioritize host genes for resistance breeding or gene editing and provide a foundation for developing targeted interventions to disrupt nematode infection at its earliest stages. Most importantly, however, this work will set in motion the much-needed shift from wet-lab bench work to powerful computational approaches to exploit the wealth of data generated at Iowa State with soybean checkoff support.

Optimizing cover crop termination timing to manage waterhemp and minimize shade avoidance in soybean
Wesley Everman and collaborator Mark Licht, agronomy, will address the knowledge gap concerning how the timing of cereal rye termination affects early season light competition, reduces waterhemp germination, induces shade avoidance response in soybean and ultimately affects soybean yield. This research will provide clearer guidance on how long cereal rye can remain in the field to maximize soil health and weed suppression benefits without compromising soybean productivity. 

Continued Projects

Soil amendment with biofuel industry co-products for improving soybean disease management 
Leonor Leandro, plant pathology, entomology and microbiology and co-PIs Santanu Bakshi and Lisa Schulte Moore, Bioeconomy Institute, will use the additional funding to transition from studying the impact of biochar and digestate amendments on soybean disease development and plant health in pasteurized soil to natural field soil that more closely resembles conditions in farm fields. Understanding the root causes of soybean sudden death syndrome severity is crucial in developing recommendations for farmers on soil amendment application rates and managing soybean disease. Initial research found that the effectiveness of biochar in disease suppression depends on the source material, with yellow pine biochar having the greatest potential to reduce seedling root rot caused by F. virguliforme.   

Seed treatment effects on the seed, seedling and soil microbiome
Gary Munkvold and co-PI Larry Halverson, plant pathology, entomology and microbiology, will continue their investigation of seed treatments commonly used to protect seeds and roots from damaging pathogens. Specifically, he will study the reaction of soil microflora, including pathogens, to the presence of different seed treatment products on soybean seeds. Results will provide new information about the efficacy of chemical and biological seed treatments, which will be valuable in making decisions about seed treatment usage in soybean.

The council is made up of three Iowa soybean farmers and 18 industry partner representatives and is led by IAC Chair, Joe McClure, chief officer of Research Center for Farming Innovation for the Iowa Soybean Association. The center is led by ISRC Director Greg Tylka, professor of plant pathology, entomology and microbiology and Co-directors Mark Licht, associate professor of agronomy and Steve Whitham, professor of plant pathology, entomology and microbiology.