Soybean lines transformed with the coat protein (CP) gene of Soybean mosaic virus (SMV) were evaluated for SMV resistance by quantifying the temporal and spatial spread of SMV strain AL-5 released from a point source in the field. The temporal spread of SMV within field plots during 1999 and 2000 was quantified by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. The Gompertz model most appropriately described temporal spread. Two SMV CP transformed lines (genotypes) had significantly lower infection rates and significantly lower final SMV incidence values (P ≤ 0.05) compared with controls that did not contain the CP gene. Ordinary runs analysis revealed that the spatial pattern of SMV-infected quadrats was more clustered in plots with higher SMV infection rates. Soybean lines with the lowest infection rates had significantly higher yields in 2000 and significantly less seed coat mottling compared with the controls. To our knowledge, this is the first field study demonstrating the effectiveness of pathogen-derived resistance on the temporal and spatial dynamics of pathogen spread in soybean.