Effect of Septoria brown spot on soybean yield in Illinois

Brown spot caused by Septoria glycines is a prevalent foliar disease in all soybean production areas. Application of foliar fungicides after bloom reduces the disease severity, yet yield responses are not consistent among locations and years. Our research goal was to determine the effect of different levels of Septoria brown spot on yield. Different levels of disease severity were effectively obtained in the field by weekly application of chlorothalonil for three, six, and nine times after disease inoculation at V3/V4 stage. Fungicide treatments had a significant effect on vertical progress and chlorotic area with no statistically significant effect on yield. Soybean yield was negatively correlated with vertical progress of the disease (r = -0.36). The vertical progress was the best linear predictor of yield. Based on this model, when the vertical progress of brown spot at R6 increased by 10%, the yield decreased by 142.13 kg/ha (3.4%). A variance component analyses of our data showed that location was the most critical factor, illustrating the significant effect of local environmental conditions on the disease. Power analyses indicated that at least eight locations are needed to detect an effect of 269 kg/ha. Our results provide useful information to improve the experimental design for future experiments addressing the yield constrain by late season diseases of soybean.