A growing threat to soybean yield is Sudden Death Syndrome (SDS). In fact, it is one of the top-four yield-robbing diseases in soybeans and has now spread throughout the Midwest, threatening to severely impact the gains in productivity soybean growers have come to expect. But Bayer CropScience has a new weapon to fight SDS that will hopefully be available next year.

“Between 2009 and 2011, SDS robbed the American farmer of 45 million bushels of soybeans, or 500 million dollars of revenue,” said Dave Byrum, Senior Product Manager. “ILeVO will be the first seed treatment introduced to the marketplace for the prevention of Sudden Death Syndrome.” He says they anticipate EPA approval by the end of this year, making ILeVO available for the 2015 growing season.

During the Farm Progress Show, Bayer offered a tour of ILeVO research plots in Ames. “They’re exceptional plots, we’ve been doing them for four years now and the results have really shown that ILeVO will put the farmer first,” said Byrum. “What ILeVO does is allow a grower to plant at the optimal time and achieve the full genetic yield benefit of the soybean plant.”

[wpaudio url=”http://zimmcomm.biz/farm-progress/fps14-bayer-byrum.MP3″ text=”Interview with Dave Byrum, Bayer CropScience”]

2014 Farm Progress Show Photo Album