Management of Yellow Mosaic Disease in Soybean

Soybean (Glycine max L.) is a valuable crop known for its high protein content of 40 % and quality oil content of 20 %. However, its production is often hampered by pests and diseases, with yellow mosaic disease being a major concern. This disease is caused by mungbean yellow mosaic virus (MYMV) and mungbean yellow mosaic India virus, transmitted by the whitefly (Bemisia tabaci), posing a significant threat to soybean cultivation globally. A study conducted at the Agricultural Research Station (ARS) in Bidar, India, in the summer of 2024 aimed to test effectiveness of chemical insectides to manage yellow mosaic disease by controlling its vectors. All treatments were significantly better than the control, with seed treatment using imidacloprid 600 FS and two foliar sprays of flonicamid 50 WG at 0.03 % at 20 and 35 days after sowing had least whitefly population of 3.0 per plant (63 % population reduction over control), minimum disease incidence of 26.00 % (72 % reduced disease incidence over control) and highest yield of 15.07 q/ha (11.83 q yield improvement over control) proving to be the most effective compared to other treatments.