Co-Managing Soil Health and Disease Risk: Assessing the Interaction Between Rye Cover Crops and Soilborne Plant Diseases in Soybean and Dry Bean

Commodities

Practices

This project investigates the impact of winter rye, as a cover crop, on seedling diseases, Rhizoctonia root and stem rot (RRSR), and Sclerotinia stem rot (SSR) in soybean and dry bean production. These diseases cause significant yield losses in the North Central Region and long-lived soilborne survival structures known as sclerotia, pose a management challenge for growers. In continuing research, we aim to understand the influence of cover crops on disease, pathogen persistence using buried sclerotia, and soil and plant health. Research sites include both on-farm trials and small plot, infested trials in Minnesota, Northwestern and Central Minnesota, where soil compaction, water-logging, and intensive cropping create conditions favorable for soilborne pathogens.

To advance my research, I propose new, complementary objectives to 1) diagnose opportunistic seedling diseases in cover-cropped soybean fields and 2) to assess the potential of rye cover crops to act as a "green bridge" for Rhizocntonia solani persistence. This study will provide insights on the relationship between cover crops and seedling disease incidence and their potential economic consequences. Additionally, I plan to investigate the colonization of rye by common Rhizoctonia solani anastomosis groups in the North Central Region. This research will explore whether R. solani is colonizing rye plants and whether this could contribute to increased inoculum levels in the soil, potentially affecting subsequent crops. This new line of inquiry will enhance my existing research by expanding the understanding of disease dynamics and their relationship to crop management strategies. Together, these findings will inform how cover cropping systems influence disease pressure and soil microbial dynamics - ultimately helping farmers co-manage soil health and disease risk while maintaining or improving crop yield and quality. Outcomes are expected to generate practical, region-specific recommendations on cover crop integration for sustainable dry bean and soybean production.

This project will generate new knowledge on how rye cover crops affect soil borne disease pressure and pathogen persistence in dry bean and food-grade soybean systems. The primary audience includes dry bean and soybean producers, especially those in Northwestern Minnesota using or considering cover crops, along with crop advisors, Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) and Soil Water and Conservation Districts (SWCD) personnel, and Extension educators.

Growers will use project findings to make better-informed decisions about whether and how to implement rye cover crops in their rotations. Farmers and advisors will gain increased awareness of the potential risks and benefits of integrating rye cover crops in relation to Rhizoctonia seedling blight/root rot and Sclerotinia stem (RRSR) rot (SSR). They will improve their understanding of how cover crops influence pathogen inoculum persistence and soil borne seedling diseases. Outreach through field days, newsletters, social media, and extension publications will ensure this knowledge is broadly accessible. Evaluations of intended change in practice and accessibility will include attendance logs, event surveys, web traffic analytics, and feedback from stakeholder groups.

Advisors will use project results in their recommendations to conservation-minded or specialty crop growers. Surveys will have a section specific to educators in NRCS and extension to inquire how likely they are to use information in their practice and what additional management questions remain.