Soybeans that glow under UV light might give Nebraska farmers an earlier heads-up on disease.

Brownfield reported University of Nebraska-Lincoln plant pathologist Dylan Mangel is developing forecasting tools and UV-based detection methods to spot soybean infections before symptoms show up on leaves. In years with higher disease risk, that extra time could help growers act sooner.

Fungicides do not provide season-long control, Brownfield noted, so timing matters. Mangel pointed to white mold as one example.

“White mold, for example, if we could narrow that down to when is it going to happen, then it would help time those fungicides better because they’re not effective the whole season,” he explained to the outlet. “You have to put them on and hope to time that right for that window.”

At trial sites around Nebraska, Brownfield reported Mangel’s team is also working with CropVoice to determine how soon diseases can be detected after they first take hold.

The research is split between seasonal forecasting and plot-level detection. Mangel is studying which years could bring stronger disease pressure while also testing UV-camera systems in plots of specially engineered soybeans, according to Brownfield.

Once infection occurs, those trial plants glow under UV light, giving researchers an earlier read on disease development than ordinary visual scouting would provide, the outlet reported. Brownfield said the glow on the leaves can also show where the infection is spreading.

“We can also see the distribution of that infection on the leaves, which then helps us tell what disease is at that point,” Mangel told Brownfield. “Then they have UV cameras in those fields that are watching and monitoring that continuously and reporting back.”

Brownfield described the work as still early in development, but reported that Mangel is hopeful the approach can scale to large farming operations.

Read more from The Cool Down.