** AWARDS ISSUED PRIOR TO JANUARY 20, 2025, WERE FUNDED UNDER PREVIOUS ADMINISTRATIONS AND MAY NOT REFLECT THE PRIORITIES AND POLICIES OF THE CURRENT ADMINISTRATION.** SOYBEAN CYST NEMATODE (SCN, HETERODERA GLYCINES) IS ONE OF THE MOST DEVASTATING PATHOGENS OF SOYBEAN IN THE WORLD, CAUSING MORE THAN 1 BILLION DOLLARS OF YIELD LOSSES EACH YEAR IN THE USA. ALTHOUGH PLANT RESISTANCE IS THE PRIMARY AND MOST EFFECTIVE STRATEGY AGAINST SCN, IT'S CRUCIAL TO RECOGNIZE THAT MANY SCN POPULATIONS HAVE ADAPTED TO THIS APPROACH OVER TIME. THEREFORE, THE EVALUATION OF ALTERNATIVE SCN MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES BECOMES ESSENTIAL. OUR PREVIOUS RESEARCH ON ROOT LESION NEMATODES AND OUR PRELIMINARY LABORATORY STUDIES ON SCN HAVE DEMONSTRATED A SIGNIFICANT REDUCTION OF NEMATODE NUMBERS USING SPECIFIC MANURE-BASED COMPOSTS. IN OUR PURSUIT OF EFFECTIVE SOLUTIONS, WE'VE ISOLATED BACTERIA FROM THESE COMPOSTS AND ARE ACTIVELY ASSESSING THEIR INFLUENCE ON EGG HATCHING. ADDITIONALLY, GREENHOUSE EXPERIMENTS HAVE DEMONSTRATED THAT COVER CROPS CAN SIGNIFICANTLY REDUCE SCN EGG COUNTS COMPARED TO SUSCEPTIBLE SOYBEAN CONTROLS. SO, WE WILL CONDUCT THOROUGH EVALUATIONS OF SUSTAINABLE TREATMENTS, INCLUDING COMPOSTS AND MANURES, BACTERIA ISOLATED FROM THESE ORGANIC MATERIALS, AND COVER CROPS, TO DETERMINE THEIR EFFECTIVENESS IN MANAGING SCN POPULATIONS. FURTHERMORE, OUR MICHIGAN SURVEY DETECTED SECOND-STAGE SCN JUVENILES IN SEVERAL WHEAT ROOT SAMPLES. WE AIM TO ASSESS WHEAT'S IMPACT ON SCN POPULATIONS AND EXPLORE ITS POTENTIAL AS A TRAP CROP. OUR PROJECT WILL ALSO INVOLVE CONDUCTING A COMPREHENSIVE STATEWIDE SURVEY IN MICHIGAN TO ASSESS THE POPULATIONS, DISTRIBUTION, HG TYPES, AND THE FACTORS INFLUENCING THE PRESENCE OF SCN. WE WILL SHARE THE FINDINGS OF THIS STUDY WITH GROWERS, STAKEHOLDERS, NEMATOLOGISTS, AND EXTENSION FACULTY MEMBERS THROUGH EXTENSION BULLETINS, PUBLICATIONS, AND TALKS AT FARM CONVENTIONS IN FOUR SOYBEAN-PRODUCING STATES.