For a second year, the Wisconsin Soybean Marketing Board and the University of Wisconsin-Madison will help soybean growers monitor their fields for the soybean cyst nematode.

Soybean growers can have one soil sample checked for free by bringing it to the Agronomy Field Day, Thursday, Sept. 16 at the Arlington Agricultural Research Station. Growers who miss that opportunity can mail in a soil sample for analysis.

The soybean cyst nematode attacks soybean roots. It has become one of the crop”s most serious pests, according to Ann MacGuidwin, a nematologist in the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences. The nematode can reduce soybean yields even when plants appear normal above the ground.

“The only way to know for sure if the nematode is limiting yields is to run a soil test,” MacGuidwin says. “A soil test also shows the pest”s population density in a field, which is important for deciding whether or not to plant a soybean variety with resistance to the nematode.”

To collect a soil sample, growers should use a soil probe or hand trowel. Collect 10 to 20 soil cores 6 to 8 inches deep in a zigzag pattern throughout 10 to 20 acres of a field. Dump cores into a bucket and mix thoroughly. Place approximately 2 cups of mixed soil in a plastic bag and label it. Include your name, address and phone number, sampling date, the number of acres represented in the sample, crop history, and name, location or number of the field sampled.

Growers who can”t attend the field day on Sept. 16 can send a sample by second class mail to: Prof. Ann MacGuidwin, Room 495 Russell Labs, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53706.