Why are nematodes so hard to get rid of?

Planting season is right around the corner and so are the pests.

Soybean cyst nematode causes problems for growers every year. A researcher explains why they are so hard to eradicate.

“The worm is about 100th of an inch long, and it’s confusing to people, perhaps also because it goes into the root and attaches to the vascular tissue of the soybean root, but then it swells up. The adult female eventually gets so big that she pops out of the root, and you can see her as a little white dot on the surface of the root. In fact, that’s one way we advise farmers and agronomists to check fields for SCN. Wait till five or six weeks after planting, and then, pretty much, through to August, maybe mid-August, dig roots and look for those little white females,” said Dr. Greg Tylka.

He warns nematode resistance will be a challenge in the future. The current resistance took around 20 years to fall apart.

Related Stories
Strong demand supports sweet potatoes, but grading challenges and rising costs weigh on returns for Southeastern growers.
Pressure on grain storage capacity and stronger export positioning are pushing more grain onto railroads, highways, and river systems as logistics become a key bottleneck this fall.
The Cotton-4 are pushing hard for new value chain investments. Still, many U.S. cotton producers face unsustainable losses, and weakened regional textile capacity threatens the survival of the Carolina “dirt-to-shirt” supply chain.
Tryston Beyrer, Crop Nutrition Lead at The Mosaic Company, examines planning trends as producers weigh corn and soybean plantings for 2026.
Brooks York with AgriSompo joins us to offer an update on what agents are prioritizing as the calendar year winds down.
Despite the need for swift action, many ag lawmakers and industry groups argue that farm aid alone will likely not be sufficient to help farmers without improved trade relations with China.

Agriculture Shows
Crop yield champions David Hula from Virginia and Randy Dowdy from Georgia are back for another season with the aim of schooling more growers across the country in their winning ways.
“Texas Agriculture Matters” is a fun, informative look at the role of agriculture in our daily lives. The show utilizes the trademark wit and wisdom of its host Commissioner Sid Miller — an 8th-generation farmer-rancher and 12-time World Champion rodeo cowboy — to explore a new Texas ag-related topic each week.
From barnyards and back roads to metros and highways, Simply Southern TV on RFD-TV explores all of Alabama to bring you the best stories on farming, gardening, forestry, rural living, and youth in agriculture.
In the first week of each month, “Down Home Virginia,” produced by the Virginia Farm Bureau, airs its half-hour program. Other states’ Farm Bureaus featured on different weeks include Texas, Arkansas, Indiana, Illinois, Tennessee, Idaho, and New York, and news from the American Farm Bureau from Washington, D.C.
Created by former Louisiana Farm Bureau PR Director and former host Regnal Wallace, “This Week in Louisiana Agriculture,” is one of the state’s longest-running TV programs.