Cover Crops and Soybean Cyst Nematodes

This is the third year in a row I have planted a cover crop on my pea field. It has been too late to even think about planting a second crop of beans. I have been "educated" on the benefits of having cover crops growing in the field rather than bare black soil. I was reading an article from the Minnesota Soybean Growers posted by the Soybean Cyst Nematode Coalition about not feeding soybean cyst nematodes with the species of cover crops you plant. It was like, why did I not think of that!

The soybean cyst nematode is a little worm that attaches to soybean roots and is the most damaging pest in North American Soybeans. Once it is in your field you cannot eliminate it. It is in most soybean fields at varying levels of infestations. It can be managed with non-host crops and resistant soybean varieties. The last thing you would want to do is plant a cover crop with a host species that would expand the population. Still don't know why I did not think of that!

"If you can't be good be lucky" I always say. In this case I got lucky! The article had a list of grasses and cereal grains that were a poor host for soybean cyst nematodes and oats was on the list. Brassicas like radishes which I also planted were on the list of poor hosts too. So, I did get lucky! It made me think about all the cover crop meetings I have gone to and I don't remember anyone ever mentioning the concern about the species you choose for cover crops and soybean cyst nematodes!.