The ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex is a 220 acres athletic complex located in the Walt Disney World Resort, in Bay Lake, near Orlando. The complex includes 9 venues and hosts numerous amateur and professional sporting events throughout the year, it was known as Disney's Wide World of Sports Complex from 1997 until 2010 when it was re-branded with the Disney-owned ESPN brand. The rebranding was unveiled on February 25, 2010; the complex is a part of the Sports tourism emerging market. Disney built the US$100 million facility on former wetlands under the direction of Disney Vice President Reggie Williams. Construction started in July 1995; the complex was built to: publicize Walt Disney World fill some hotel rooms some sponsorship revenue build Disney World's position as a sports destination. The venue opened on March 28, 1997 with an exhibition baseball game between the Atlanta Braves and the Cincinnati Reds. On April 21–27, the main tennis courts hosted the U. S. Men's Clay Court Tennis Championships.

A grand opening was held May 15, 1997. The initial build out consisted of nine venues with a 10th, the Olympic velodrome, expected in the third quarter 1997. Initial tenants were Braves & its rookie team, the Harlem Globetrotters, NFL Experience, the U. S. Men's Clay Court Championships, Amateur Athletic Union, Official All Star Café and Northeastern University's Center for the Study of Sport in Society.:2 Disney bid for the Florida state high school football finals for 1997 but lost to Gainesville. In June 1999, the complex made a deal with the Florida High School Activities Association to host the state prep volleyball championships at the Disney Fieldhouse for three years. USA Trampoline and Tumbling Championships was held at the complex the weekend of June 7, 1997. A former baseball umpire and an architect alleged that they approached the Walt Disney Company in 1987 with plans for a sports complex, that Wide World of Sports, which opened 10 years was based on their designs. Disney claimed that, while the designs had some similarities, the complex was similar to numerous other sporting facilities, the concept of a sports park was too generic for any one group to claim ownership.

The two men, represented in part by noted attorney Johnnie Cochran, sued Disney in Orange County civil court. In August 2000, a jury returned a verdict for the plaintiffs with damages in the amount of $240 million, a fraction of the $1.5 billion sought. Disney appealed the judgment, settled out of court in September 2002 for undisclosed terms. With Planet Hollywood just out of bankruptcy, Disney offered to purchase its All Star Café located here in February 2000. In August 2004, 20 acres of additional fields, four baseball diamonds with other multi-use fields, were added under the name of Hess Sports Fields. Plans for a 100 lane bowling stadium with restaurant was announced for the complex by Disney officials in May 2008; this stadium would be built and operated by a third party and was supposed to completed in 18 months. About 13 United States Bowling Congress tournaments were expected for facility. During an ESPN the Weekend kick off event on February 25, 2010, the complex was rebranded as the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex.

It received a massive upgrade, having installed HD video scoreboards at several venues, a new complex-wide audio system and a broadcast production facility. New venues and activities at the complex included the PlayStation Pavilion and Custom Tee Center by Champion. Prior to the rebranding in 2007, Disney announced a 450-acre Flamingo Crossings hotel-and-retail development, it would be located near the area for complex visitors and budget minded Disney World visitors. Shelved due to economic downturn, the project was revived with the 2013 sale of the property to first phase developer JL Properties Inc. of Alaska. An October 16, 2014 groundbreaking took place for the first phase, consisting of two Marriott International brand hotels which opened in January 2016. In 2008 and 2009, the Disney Channel Games were held at the complex. May 9–11, 2014, a WNBA pre-season tournament consisting of four teams was held alongside an AAU girls basketball tournament at the complex, with the Minnesota Lynx winning the tournament over the Chicago Sky 76-69.

While the Citrus Bowl was under repairs, the Orlando City Soccer Club played its 2014 home games at the complex. The Atlanta Braves announced that 2017 would be their final year in the complex, but their departure would be delayed to 2019. In early January 2018, The Arena opened at the complex as its third indoor multi-purpose sports and entertainment arena; that month, United States Specialty Sports Association left for the Space Coast Complex in Viera, Florida ending its use of ESPN's complex. A 7,500 seat baseball stadium built in 1997 has 2,000 more lawn seating. One of the original components of Wide World of Sports, it was known as Cracker Jack Stadium and The Ballpark at Disney's Wide World of Sports, it was the spring training home of the Atlanta Braves from 1997 to 2019, the recurring home for the Gulf Coast Braves. The stadium has hosted two regular season Major League Baseball series in 2007 and 2008 featuring the Tampa Bay Rays as the home team, it is sponsored by Hanes with their Champion brand.

A 5,000-seat multi-purpose arena the Milk House and Disney Fieldhouse, sponsored by HP Inc.. It hosts the AdvoCare Invitational college basketball tournament annually; the HP Field House has 50,000 square feet with stadium style seating with the highest row 35 feet off the floor. It features a smaller gymnasium behind the main arena with retractable seating, it was sponsored by the California Milk Processor Board, progenitors of the famous Got Milk? campaign. Beginning in 2018, the arena hosts the Jr. NBA Global Champ

Diaporthe phaseolorum var. caulivora is a fungal plant pathogen which infects soybean, causing soybean stem canker. Soybean is the most economically important host of soybean stem canker caused by Diaporthe phaseolorum var. caulivora. Since the early 1940s, Stem Canker was a prevalent disease in the upper Midwest. Soybean host plant susceptibility has been researched since the early 1950s, bringing light to the need for developing resistant varieties. Botanist AA Hildebrand ran a varietal selection experiment to determine susceptible varieties in northern climates. Successful removal of susceptible cultivars “Hawkeye” and “Blackhawk” reduced the impact of this disease. In the past 30 years, successful breeding for resistant varieties has reduced the significance of this disease in certain parts of the country, however sporadic incidences of the disease still occur. In soybean, the main factor affecting disease susceptibility is the presence or absence of resistance genes in specific cultivars.

Along with soybean, many common weed species have been studied as potential hosts. Investigations have identified 13 weed species for soybean stem canker when inoculated directly with ascospores. Inoculation success to these weeds species was found in greenhouse experiments though outdoor trials were not as successful. More many weed species, such as black nightshade, curly dock, morning glory, have been confirmed as susceptible hosts, yet few show symptomology of the disease until plant death. Weed species as host for this disease are of particular interest because of their potential to act as an inoculum for the disease on soybean. Disease symptoms occur on the stems and can lead to whole plant symptoms. Reddish brown lesions on the lower stem of soybean plants progress into brown cankers. In some cases, the disease can spread to all parts of the stem. Stem girdling can result in premature plant death. Grey streaking along the lower stem and taproot has been observed. Studies suggest a toxin may influence the symptomology of stem canker.

Leaf symptoms include interveinal necrosis during early reproductive stages. Leaves dry and fall off the plant as the disease worsens. Stem canker has similar symptomology as brown stem rot, fusarium wilt, phytopthora stem rot, sudden death syndrome, tobacco streak virus, sclerotinia stem rot, which can make distinguishing this disease difficult. Stem canker can be differentiated by its long dark red or brown canker that can extend over multiple nodes. Inside the stem, discoloration is localized to areas near the lesion. Environmental conditions during the vegetative growth stage are most important for stem canker development; when plants are infected at V3 growth stage they are subject to the highest severity of disease of any growth stage. The combination of early growth stage susceptibility to disease and optimal environmental conditions can cause a stem canker epidemic if not treated properly. Fields subjected to hail damage have been shown to have increased stem canker severity; the optimal air temperature for infection occurs at 83.5 °F, while infection occurs when temperatures are between 82 °F and 93 °F.

Along with optimal temperature, moisture is needed for infection. During vegetative growth stages, rainfall is crucial to the development of stem canker infections. Cumulative rainfall is positively related to higher disease severity. Further, if dry conditions follow wet conditions during vegetative growth stages, plant mortality increases; this is because the disease inhibits the flow of water through the stem to plant extremities, therefore dry periods after infection stress plants more than wet periods after infection. Management of soybean stem canker is influenced by proper cultivar selection. Selecting resistant soybean varieties is the best management practice for this disease, followed by crop rotation to a non-host crop. Furthermore, soybean grown for seed should not be planted if harvested from a field with a history of stem canker. In-furrow fungicides applied at planting can reduce infestation to seed during germination, but will not control the disease completely. Rotations in to corn, wheat or sorghum for at least 2 years is recommend after a severe infestation.

Fungicide sprays for this disease may not be effective on susceptible cultivars, however will manage an outbreak in moderately susceptible cultivars. Fungicides, such as benzimidazoles, should be sprayed during the early vegetative growth stages to avoid an outbreak. Minimum or no till fields have a higher susceptibility to stem canker because of the increased amount of crop residue that increases the survival rate of the disease. Incorporation of residue or tillage will reduce disease development in the field. Lastly, high organic matter and/or high fertility levels can positively influence stem canker infestation. To manage this, use best management practices to maintain sufficient soil fertility levels. List of soybean diseases Index Fungorum USDA ARS Fungal Database