Subsurface tile drainage is a commonly used agricultural practice in Iowa croplands. Little is known about the effect of drainage on soybean (Glycine max) disease. Field and greenhouse studies were conducted to study the effect of drainage on seedling health. A field experiment was conducted at the Iowa State University research farm near Crawfordsville, Iowa, in 2012 and2013 (ND, no artificial drainage). A greenhouse experiment was conducted three times to compare two soil sources (ND and CvD soil from the field experiment), two soybean cultivars (Ripley and Williams 82), and three watering intensities (low, moderate, and saturated). Plants were sampled at the second trifoliate stage to assess root rot severity, root dry weight, root size, and Fusarium spp. incidence in roots. In the field, root rot severity was significantly (p < 0.01) greater in the ND and SD drainage treatments than in the CvD treatment in 2013 but not in 2012. Fusarium spp. were isolated less frequently from roots grown in ND soil than all other drainage treatments, in both years. In the greenhouse study, watering intensity significantly affected root rot on Ripley, with more water causing more root rot (p < 0.01). Despite greater rot, roots showed increased root weight, root length, root diameter, and number of root tips with increasing soil water up to saturation for both varieties. Fusarium incidence decreased as water amount increased. In summary, fields with high moisture are more prone to root rot, but well-drained soil favors infection of soybean roots by Fusarium spp.
Key words: drainage-Fusarium spp.-root rot-soybeanAmple water supply is essential for plant growth; however, excessively wet soils cause several problems including inadequate soil oxygen (O 2 ) supply, reduced nutrient uptake, poor root growth, inadequate nodulation, and decreased photosynthesis, resulting in reduced foliage that ultimately impacts yield (Linkemer et al. 1998). Soybean (Glycine max L.) germination and emergence is favored in well-aerated soils (Pavelis 1987). Additionally, lower soil moisture increases soil trafficability, which can lead to earlier planting and germination, which potentially protect plants from possible later season water deficiency (Bornstin and Hedstrom 1982;Mayhew and Caviness 1994;Mengistu and Heatherly 2006). Subsurface drainage covers 12% of the agriculture land in the United States and accounts for 3.6 × 10 6 ha (8.9 × 10 6 ac) of cropland in Iowa (Baker et al. 2004;Evans and Fausey 1999; Garrison et al. 1999;Linkemer et al. 1998). Subsurface drainage is one of the most valuable practices to protect the crops as it can remove excess water after a heavy rain or over irrigation from the upper portions of the active root zone. The benefits of drainage include (1) removing excessive water that accumulated below the surface and therefore creating a well-aerated soil condition that favors soybean germination (Evans and Fausey 1999;Pavelis 1987;Tyagi and Tripathi 1983); (2) increasing trafficability by facilitating heavy ...