Stealthy Thieves: Soil and root samples help identify corn nematodes

摘要

Corn nematodes could be feeding on your corn profits without you realizing it because you can't always tell just by looking at your crop. Only soil and root samples sent in for analysis can give you a reliable picture. Even when above-ground symptomsoccur - wilting, slow growth and off-color leaves - they are sometimes mistakenly chalked up to a variety of other causes with similar symptoms, says Tom Powers, a University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UN-L) nematolosist.