A RAPID METHOD FOR INOCULATING SOYBEAN SEEDLINGS WITH HETERODERA-GLYCINES

A mouth-pipetting method and a newly described method of inoculation of soybean (Glycine max) seedings with resistance to the soybean cyst nematode (SCN) Heterodera glycines race 3 were evaluated. Neither method resulted in a change for the index of parasitism in soybean genotypes Peking, Pickett-71, PI 90763, or PI 88788. The auto-dispenser method resulted in a narrow range of cysts (160-184 per plant) produced on the susceptible cultivar Essex and gave a lower standard of deviation than the mouth-pipetting method. The new method is approximately 18 times faster than the mouth-pipetting method and requires only a single individual to conduct the inoculation. An estimated cost of 94% (dollars) can be saved by adopting the auto-dispenser method.