The current threshold of 250 aphids per plant and increasing should be followed to the end of the R5 stage of soybeans. The R5 stage is known as the “Beginning Seed” stage, when the pods on the top 4 nodes of the plant have a tiny seed developing inside them. Once the soybeans start to […]
Some counties in Michigan have been given the recommendation to spray their dry beans due to the high moth counts and observations of pod feeding at some locations. Montcalm County (central Michigan) in particular is at the highest risk with some trap sites capturing over 400-500 moths in the last few weeks. Isabella, Gratiot and Mecosta counties are also considered […]
I have been getting more calls this week with people wanting to spray the aphids just to take care of them..even if they are not at threshold. Most realize that the natural enemies are going to get killed but they also assume 100% kill of the aphids and struggle to understand how the aphids can […]
A recent summer migration of soybean aphids in Ontario has resulted in many new fields having a fair number of aphids in them now. Fields that were scouted a week or two ago and were found to have very few aphids could now be closer to threshold than you think. Scouting is advised. Scout Cruiser […]
SPIDERMITES: I have a sneaking suspicion that spidermites are making their way into those fields that haven’t had rain in a while. We have had situations in the past where not only have they popped up in soybeans and were being disregarded as “drought stress” symptoms but also in seed corn, especially around or just after […]
A lot of calls are coming in this week from growers and reps who have fields that are hovering around the 250 aphids per plant range. With the poor weather and wheat harvest some are anxious to make the call if they need to spray. In fact, there are some rumours out there that some are spraying […]
This is a ladybeetle larvae. They can be black or a dull grey/purple with orange or yellow markings. If they are shaped like an alligator, they are a ladybeetle larvae. It will be an adult ladybeetle soon. Both the larvae and adults feed on aphids. The black velvet coloured aphid on the right is […]
Calls have been coming in from several areas across the province reporting fields that have reached threshold and need to be sprayed. The most recent hotspots include Huron County along lake Huron, Bruce County near Tara, fields north of Barrie, York and Durham and a large number of acres between Belleville and Cornwall. Just coming back […]
Now that we are getting into the R1 (beginning bloom) stage of soybeans, we have a bunch of research to do on soybean aphids including trying different combinations of water volume, pressure and nozzle configurations and testing new novel insecticides for future registrations. But we need sites. So anyone that finds soybean fields (>25 acres) with aphids […]
It is a strange season. Things that shouldn’t be happening yet are and it is really messing us all up in terms of catching things in time before they become a problem. I just had a call from Laura Neubrand that she has found true armyworm in a late planted wheat field near Exeter that […]
High aphid numbers are being found in fields in counties bordering Lake Simcoe (Simcoe, Durham and Victoria). Spraying has been necessary in many of the fields that have been scouted. Scouting is advised in all fields in that region, starting first with the fields that were not treated with Cruiser. Cruiser treated fields should not be […]
First off, I apologize for not updating the blog for the last little while. I’ve been busy with setting up the SouthWest Diagnostic Days and just ran out of time. But let me catch you up on a few things that have taken place but I am also hoping that others who have been out […]
I’m getting quite a few calls about slugs taking out soybean plantings not once but sometimes twice in the same field. It has been an ideal spring for slugs with all of this wet cool weather. And last fall was wet too, which helped all those slugs lay eggs and survive in these problem fields. Unfortunately there […]
We are starting to see natural enemies moving into the soybean fields to feed on the aphids there. Ladybugs and syrphid fly larvae are the most evident but there have been a few fungal mummies starting to show up too, thanks to this moist week. This cooler weather will slow down the aphids doubling rate […]
Traps were just going up last week but already both Michigan and Ohio have caught their first WBC moth of the season. Traps also went up last week in Ontario and our trap participants will be sending in their results this week. We will be updating our trap captures each week via maps. Ontario WBC Trap Maps will be available […]