For example, in the north central United States, it has been estimated the nematode causes an annual loss of 48 million bushels. Losses may be as high as 75 percent in individual fields, making soybean production uneconomical without effective control measures. In Kansas, SCN was first reported in 1985 in Doniphan County. Since then, the nematode s range has continued to expand. They burrow into the roots and begin feeding on young root cells.
Females become immobile as they continue to feed and mature.
A few eggs are deposited into the soil in a jelly-like mass, but the majority are retained within the body. The swollen body starts out white, but turns yellow, then brown, forming cysts as the female ages and dies. At maturity and death, the cysts become dislodged from roots. Males remain slender and cylindrical throughout their life cycles and do not become sedentary. Adult males do not feed, but move out of the root and mate with females that have begun egg production.