Brown interveinal tissue with yellow to green veins are typical symptoms on the leaves. Disease Management Tillage, rotation and soybean cultivar all affect the severity of brown stem rot. Continuous planting of soybeans will result in the build-up of inoculum on crop debris which results in more disease and greater severity in seasons with environmental conditions favoring disease development. A minimum of two years between soybean crops in fields with a history of brown stem rot is recommended. When severe disease occurs, deep plowing of infested crop debris may reduce the survival of the fungus, but this practice should be used in combination with sufficiently long rotation sequence.
Brown stem rot resistant varieties have been developed.
The genetic source of brown stem rot resistance, however, is limited. It is not recommended that growers rely only on resistant varieties, but use a combination of management practices to reduce the incidence and severity of this disease. Additional disease management strategies for fields with a history of brown stem rot may include planting soybean cultivars with shorter relative maturity. These early maturing varieties may escape the yield reducing effects of brown stem rot in comparison to cultivars with later maturity or planting later in the season. It should be noted that planting soybeans in narrow rows does not influence the incidence of brown stem rot.