Long-term effects of residue and water management practices on plant parasitic nematode abundance and soybean root infection

Abstract Soil-borne, plant parasitic nematodes are potentially agronomically and economically damaging in the wheat ( Triticum aestivum L.)-soybean ( Glycine max L.), double-crop production system that is common in the mid-southern United States. Double-crop field studies with at least five years of consistent management are rare, but can provide a valuable setting to assess long-term, and potentially cumulative, management practice effects on nematode abundance and root damage. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of a combination of management practices including residue burning (burned and no burn)-irrigation (irrigated and non-irrigated), wheat residue level (high and low), and tillage (conventional tillage and no-tillage) practices on plant parasitic nematode soil abundance and reproduction on soybean 34 and 70 days after planting following 14 complete cropping cycles in a wheat-soybean, double-crop production system on a silt-loam soil in eastern Arkansas. Stunt and total nematode abundances were at least 8.2 and 4.2 times greater (P