Last week, symptoms of sudden death syndrome (SDS) began to appear in April 15-planted soybeans at the University of Illinois’ Northwestern Research Center in Warren County. Weather during the 2015 growing season has been favorable for the development of SDS: cool, moist soils after planting and frequent rains ever since. Symptoms began appearing approximately 3 weeks earlier than in 2014. While the fungus that causes SDS (Fusarium virguliforme) infects roots of soybean seedlings very early in the growing season, foliar symptoms don’t typically appear until after soybean plants reach reproductive growth stages. Foliar symptoms begin with a yellowing of [...]