SCN-resistant Variety Trial Information Estimated to Have Provided Over $200 Million in Value to Farmers from 2011 to 2016
Almost all soybean varieties resistant to the soybean cyst nematode (SCN) have been developed from a breeding line named PI 88788. The amount of SCN control varies among the varieties because they have different numbers of copies of the single SCN resistance gene. The Iowa State University SCN-resistant Variety Trial Program evaluates hundreds of commercially available resistant varieties for yield and SCN control each year. In a recently published journal paper, ISU agricultural economists estimated that information from the ISU SCN variety trial provided as much as $205 million of economic value to farmers from 2011 to 2016. This finding underscores the value of selecting and growing SCN-resistant soybean varieties that offer high yields and effective control of SCN.