BLB can feed on the surface of the pod which exposes the seed inside to pod diseases that can develop. Sometimes the beetles outright clip the pods off the plant, leaving them on the field floor untouched. Rarely is leaf defoliation by BLB a concern in the later R stages. Pod injury on crush soybeans typically does not warrant control.
Scout IP, food grade or seed soybean fields that have not yet reached early R6 – if adults are still actively feeding in the field and 10% of the soybean pods inspected have feeding injury, a spray is warranted. If pods are being clipped off the plants and are found on the ground in several areas of the field, a spray is also warranted. Registered products can be found on the OMAFRA Crop Protection Hub. Pre-harvest intervals range from 20 to 30 days depending on the product so take this into consideration too as to when it is too late to spray.