ABSTRACT
Sudden death syndrome of soybean, caused by Fusarium solani f. sp. glycines, is a disease of increasing economic importance in the United States. Although the ecology of sudden death syndrome has been extensively studied in relation to crop management practices such as tillage, irrigation, and cultivar selection, there is no information on the effects of herbicides on this disease. Three herbicides (lactofen, glyphosate, and imazethapyr) commonly used in soybean were evaluated for their effects on the phenology of F. solani f. sp. glycines and the development of sudden death syndrome in four soybean cultivars varying in resistance to the disease and in tolerance to glyphosate. Conidial germination, mycelial growth, and sporulation in vitro were reduced by glyphosate and lactofen. In growth-chamber and greenhouse experiments, there was a significant increase in disease severity and frequency of isolation of F. solani f. sp. glycines from roots of all cultivars after application of imazethapyr or glyphosate compared with the control treatment (no herbicide applied). Conversely, disease severity and isolation frequency of F. solani f. sp. glycines decreased after application of lactofen. Across all herbicide treatments, severity of sudden death syndrome and isolation frequency were lower in disease-resistant than in susceptible cultivars. Results suggest that glyphosate-tolerant and -nontolerant cultivars respond similarly to infection by F. solani f. sp. glycines after herbicide application.
