Martinson says that because white mold has been a problem in Iowa, there is some speculation that there are other organisms capable of destroying the white mold sclerotia. Researchers are isolating and testing several of these organisms in the laboratory to see how they perform. To date, none appear to perform as well as S. sclerotivorum . Martinson says numerous producers have been asking about white mold control. After Leopold Center support for the project concludes this year, the project will receive additional support from the Iowa Soybean Promotion Board to collect more information about biocontrol of this serious soybean pest.
Sclerotinia is a serious pest on other crops worldwide, including sunflower and beans.
When the population of its antagonist builds up over time, however, the disease can be eradicated. The question remains whether a commercial firm would find production of the biocontrol agent profitable because once the mycoparasite is established, sales could conceivably fall off significantly. If S. sclerotivorum proves to be an effective way to control soybean white mold, Martinson sees potential for its use in precision application systems as well as in organic regimes. This article was modified from a longer version that was printed in the Fall 1998 issue of the Leopold Letter, vol. The project was funded in part by the Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture.