Not much happening yet

Since there is not much crop up yet to spot feeding injury on, there really is not much happening yet on the insect front.  However, anyone that did push planting and planted into too wet or cool soils, or deep planted may start seeing some issues when the crops starts to emerge.  Millipedes and slugs in particular could be a problem this year given how wet it was and neither are controlled by the insecticide seed treatments that everyone is using and expecting to control all things with.  It is really important to get the message out to stop planting too early when the soil is not fit and/or too deep as it is just giving the seed to these pests.  And these insecticide seed treatments do not control everything out there.

Bean leaf beetles adults are out now.  Not sure what kind of populations we are going to see this year.  But with overall planting being on the later side, this could put us at risk for an extended pod feeding period into mid September, as these critters like to feed on late planted soys since the pods would still be green and succulent then.  But we will see.

And as for soybean aphids..well I didn’t find any on the buckthorn I scout every year.  And there have been very few reports anywhere in the states either.   It could just be that we are not looking in the right places, as it doesn’t take much of a colony to give us a decent population on soybeans each year.  But it is really strange that we haven’t found something yet, given the record aphid catches we experienced in the fall in the suction traps.  I’m not willing to say that aphids won’t be a problem this year though.  They’ve taught me to never write them off or claim a “No Aphid Year”.

As always, if you are seeing anything out there..let me know!

4 thoughts on “Not much happening yet

  1. Tracey,
    We found a 5% cutworm infestation in a seed corn field in the Lighthouse Cove area.
    Bob

  2. Tracey – we now have first instar corn borers in a seed corn field at Lighthouse Cove – 12% infestation of hungry first instar larvae.

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