Multistate sensitivity monitoring of Fusarium virguliforme to the SDHI fungicides fluopyram and pydiflumetofen in the United States

Abstract

Sudden death syndrome (SDS), caused by Fusarium virguliforme, is an important yield-limiting disease of soybean (Glycine max). From 1996 to 2022, cumulative yield losses attributed to SDS in North America totaled over 25 million metric tons, valued at over $7.8 billion USD. Seed treatments are widely used to manage SDS by reducing early season soybean root infection by F. virguliforme. Fluopyram (SDHI - FRAC 7), a fungicide seed treatment for SDS management, has been registered for use on soybean in the U.S. since 2014. A baseline sensitivity study conducted in 2014 evaluated 130 F. virguliforme isolates collected from five U.S. states to fluopyram in a mycelial growth inhibition assay and reported a mean EC50 of 3.35 mg/L. This baseline study provided the foundation for the objectives of this research: to detect any statistically significant change in fluopyram sensitivity over time and geographical regions within the U.S. and to investigate sensitivity to the fungicide pydiflumetofen. We repeated fluopyram sensitivity testing on a panel of 80 historical F. virguliforme isolates collected from 2006-2013 (76 of which were used in the baseline study) and conducted testing on 123 contemporary isolates collected from 2016-2022 from eleven U.S. states. This study estimated a mean absolute EC50 of 3.95 mg/L in isolates collected from 2006-2013 and a mean absolute EC50 of 4.19 mg/L in those collected in 2016-2022. There was no significant change in fluopyram sensitivity (P = 0.1) identified between the historical and contemporary isolates. A subset of 23 isolates, tested against pydiflumetofen under the same conditions, estimated an mean absolute EC50 of 0.11 mg/L. Moderate correlation was detected between fluopyram and pydiflumetofen sensitivity estimates (R = 0.53, P < 0.001). These findings enable future fluopyram and pydiflumetofen resistance monitoring and inform current soybean SDS management strategies in a regional and national context.