Soybean Aphid and Soybean Cyst Nematode Interactions in the Field and Effects on Soybean Yield

How above-and belowground plant pests interact with each other and how these interactions affect productivity is a relatively understudied aspect of crop production. Soybean cyst nematode, Heterodera glycines Ichinohe, a root parasite of soybean, Glycine max (L.) Merr., is the most threatening pathogen in soybean production and soybean aphid, Aphis glycines Matsumura, an aboveground phloem-feeding insect that appeared in North America in 2000, is the key aboveground herbivore of soybean in the midwestern United States. Now, both soybean aphid and soybean cyst nematode co-occur in soybean-growing areas in the Upper Midwest. The objectives of this study were to examine aphid colonization patterns and population growth on soybean across a natural gradient of nematode density (range, approximate to 900 and 27,000 eggs per 100 cm 3 soil), and to investigate the effect of this pest complex on soybean productivity. Alate (winged) soybean aphid colonization of soybean was negatively correlated to soybean cyst nematode egg density (r = -0.363, P = 0.0095) at the end of July, at the onset of peak alate colonization. However, both a manipulative cage study and openly colonized plants showed that soybean cyst nematode density below ground was unrelated to variation in aphid population growth (r approximate to -0.01). Based on regression analyses, soybean aphids and cyst nematodes had independent effects on soybean yield through effects on different yield components. High soybean cyst nematode density was associated with a decline in soybean yield (kg ha(-1)), whereas increasing soybean aphid density (both alate and apterous) significantly decreased seed weight (g 100 seeds(-1)).