JACKSON,
Tenn. – As producers finish harvest and turn their attention to the 2017 crop
season, the University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture is releasing a new
tool that will allow farmers to quickly access information on yield performance
and disease resistance for more than 200 soybean cultivars.
“Seeds are
one of the most expensive purchases a farmer makes each year, and the choices
are increasingly complex,” says Heather Kelly, plant pathologist with the UT
Department of Entomology and Plant Pathology. “Our new searchable database will
make this abundance of information more manageable and help producers quickly
and easily find answers.”
The
searchable database, which is available online at UTCrops.com, features disease and yield
information on soybean cultivars tested in County Standardized Trials and replicated
small plots at UT AgResearch and Education Centers and on-farm locations. Users can search and sort the
results by herbicide trait, maturity group, brand name, cultivar, level of
resistance to Frogeye Leaf Spot, or yield.
Where
applicable, yield results are separately listed for high disease pressure
locations, low to moderate disease pressure locations, and when planted behind
wheat. Farmers can also compare a cultivar’s yields when treated with a fungicide
to when it was left untreated. The site also supplies information on cultivar
resistance to other diseases, such as stem canker, sudden death syndrome cercospora leaf blight and target spot, as well as soybean cyst nematode reaction.
While this
information is available in UTIA’s Soybean Variety Performance Reports, the
search query feature of the new online database allows users to quickly sort
through the disease and yield data across different
herbicide traits and maturity groups.
“This site
is by no means a replacement for our Variety Performance Reports. Instead it
will be a great first-step in helping producers efficiently find the
information they seek,” says Kelly, who compiled the database. She adds that UTIA
specialists are working to create a more comprehensive searchable database for
soybean cultivars as well as other crops. At present, this additional soybean variety information can be found at http://utcrops.com/soybean/varieties_soy.htm
The UTCrops
seed database is a free service. It can be directly accessed at http://search.utcrops.com
For the
latest Tennessee crops news, pest and disease alerts and research information,
be sure to follow the UT Crops News Blog.
Through its
mission of research, teaching and extension, the University of Tennessee
Institute of Agriculture touches lives and provides Real. Life. Solutions. ag.tennessee.edu
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Contacts:
Heather
Kelly, UT Department of Entomology and Plant Pathology, 731-425-4713, youngkelly@utk.edu
Ginger
Rowsey, UTIA Marketing and Communications, 731-425-4768, gtrice@tennessee.edu