THE LEADING DRY BEAN PRODUCING STATES IN THE US, NORTH DAKOTA (ND) AND MINNESOTA (MN) CURRENTLY FACE A SERIOUS PRODUCTION THREAT DUE TO THE PRESENCE OF SOYBEAN CYST NEMATODE (SCN). THIS IS ALARMING AS THE MAJORITY OF THE AREAS GROW SOYBEANS IN SOILS WHERE SCN IS ALREADY REPORTED, AND IN MANY CASES, DRY BEAN FARMING OVERLAPS IN THOSE FIELDS, WHICH IS VERY UNIQUE TO THIS REGION. UP TO 56% SEED YIELD REDUCTION IN DRY BEANS HAS OCCURRED IN MICROPLOT STUDIES INOCULATED WITH SCN. THIS PROVES THAT BEANS ARE A GOOD ALTERNATIVE HOST TO THIS PEST, AND IT IS CRITICAL TO DEVELOP EFFECTIVE MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES FOR MINIMIZING CROP LOSSES AND ENSURING A PROFITABLE INDUSTRY. THE FOUNDATION OF THIS RESEARCH BUILDS ON PAST RESEARCH AND ONGOING EFFORTS TO STUDY THE IMPACT OF THE NEMATODE ON SEED YIELD IN NATURALLY SCN-INFESTED FIELDS, DISCOVER AND DEPLOY HOST RESISTANCE, IDENTIFY EFFECTIVE SEED TREATMENTS, AND EDUCATE GROWERS WITH OUTREACH AND EXTENSION ACTIVITIES. AS FIELD EXPERIMENTS WILL BE CONDUCTED IN BOTH ND AND MN, RESULTS OBTAINED WILL BE ROBUST AND APPLICABLE TO DIFFERENT ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITIONS IN THE REGION. THROUGH THIS PROJECT, COLLABORATION BETWEEN NEMATOLOGY PROGRAMS, DRY BEAN BREEDING PROGRAM, EXTENSION PLANT PATHOLOGY, AND INDUSTRY STAKEHOLDERS WILL LEAD TO DEVELOPMENT OF EFFECTIVE SOLUTIONS FOR SCN MANAGEMENT AND INCREASE GROWERS' AWARENESS OF SCN IN DRY BEANS. THUS, THE FINDINGS FROM THIS PROJECT WILL MAKE SIGNIFICANT CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE EXISTING ECONOMY AND PROMOTE THE INDUSTRY TO A WIDER AGRICULTURAL HORIZON WITH PROMISING PERSPECTIVES ON AGRICULTURAL SUSTAINABILITY AND GLOBAL FOOD SECURITY.