FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Agricultural scientists are rethinking their battle plans against plant parasites that cause billions of dollars in annual yield losses for American farmers.
Plant-parasitic nematodes cause an estimated $10 billion in crop losses each year in the United States alone and more than $100 billion globally. Among them is the soybean cyst nematode, responsible for more than $1 billion in annual yield losses in U.S. soybean fields, according to the Crop Protection Network.
Soybean cyst nematodes are microscopic roundworms that live in the soil and infect plant roots. Rather than chewing on roots like insect pests, the nematodes invade root tissue and reprogram a small number of plant cells to serve as feeding sites…