Support from the SCN Coalition and National Soybean Board will continue to provide FREE soybean cyst nematode (SCN) soil testing this spring to Indiana growers. If you have trouble fields that you have not had a recent SCN test please consider sending in a soil sample to test for SCN.
This program will support one sample per farm to be submitted to the SCN Diagnostics at the University of Missouri. Please print off a form here https://ag.purdue.edu/btny/ppdl/Documents/PPDL-3-W%20SCN%20Survey-MO.pdf to include with your soil sample. Additional samples will cost $25/each.
Pack the samples in a box and cushion the samples with packing material so the bags don’t break open during shipping.
Ship to:
SCN Diagnostics
1054 East Campus Loop
University of Missouri
Columbia, MO 65211-5315
To soil sampling for SCN
The equipment you need for sampling soil for soybean cyst nematode (SCN) is the same equipment you use for taking a soil sample for soil nutrient analysis: a soil probe, a bucket, and a plastic soil bag.
To collect soil samples for SCN diagnosis, we recommend you collect 10 to 20 of cores of soil, each with 1 inch-diameter and 6 to 8 inches-depth in a 20-acre area. If the field is larger, break the field into 20-acre units and take 10 to 20 cores per unit.
Take cores from within root zones and use a zig-zag or M-pattern to collect soil cores. In addition, you may also want to include samples from a high-risk area, such as near a field entrance, areas where the yield seems to be a little lower than the last time soybeans were grown, or along fence lines where wind-blown soil accumulates.
Bulk the cores in a container and mix thoroughly. Take the time to mix the sample. The better the sample is mixed the better it represents the whole field. Put ~ 500 cm3 or 1 pint of the thoroughly-mixed soil in a plastic bag and label it with an permanent marker. Don’t put a paper label inside the bag. The moist soil will make it unreadable by the time the sample reaches us.
Please keep the sample at room temperature or cooler and keep out of the sun or hot truck cab until you are ready to pack and ship it.