While 2016 saw very few crop diseases and low insect pressure, experts are already expressing a growing concern about sudden death syndrome (SDS), as well as other crop diseases with 2017 spring planting season right around the corner.

"But even in a low pressure year like 2016, there are some areas that get hit with diseases or insects," said Clarke McGrath, on-farm research and extension coordinator at Iowa State University’s (ISU) Iowa Soybean Re­­search Center and an ISU Extension agronomist in Harlan.

"I had the chance to see some of these fields, and while luckily for the most part, they were isolated, they showed the value of good scouting," he said. "We...