Note: This post was originally published in July of 2010, but once again in 2012 there are reports of Japanese beetles feeding on soybeans. In particular it would be worthwhile to go and click on the article below that shows what the leaf feeding insects look like along with threshold values. There are quite few […]
It has been a few years for some since they have had to worry about soybean aphids, let alone make a spray decision. So I want to cover off the key points you need to know through some of the repeat questions that have been coming in. Anyone with more questions after reading this, please […]
Reports are coming in late last week of fields in Eastern Ontario reaching well above threshold levels for soybean aphids. Just a few weeks prior, these fields had only 30 to 40 per plant. I suspect other fields in even Central and Southern Ontario will also experience this kind of rapid increase as daytime and […]
I’ve been getting asked this a lot over the last few weeks so I thought I had better finally write a quick blog on it. What is this insect? It’s a red-headed flea beetle. Very common in soybeans but even more abundant this year, showing up in other crops too. Defoliation in corn is not […]
There is a lot happening out there. I am sure I am not aware of half of the infestations that are going on but at least I will report on what I do know. Western bean cutworm – Hot spot egg mass locations continue to be in the Bothwell area with now fields in the […]
Chris DiFonzo from MSU and I both have this pest on our radar. I was hoping to see more areas get some of the rain that touched Ontario yesterday but sadly that didn’t happen. It is typically a little early for mites given the stage of the soybean crop but with this heat and dry […]
It’s time to start scouting soybeans to make sure soybean aphids are not reaching threshold. A few fields that my crew has been monitoring have continued to rise in aphid numbers and are getting closer to threshold. There are natural enemies present though and they could still win the battle. We’ve seen some fields with […]
I’ve been pondering our planting situation lately and what impacts it is going to have on some of our key insect pests. We’ve been anticipating this year to be a good soybean aphid year for Ontario. It was such an extremely low aphid year last year that natural enemies didn’t build up their populations. So […]
Despite all this rain, pests are still doing quite well out there, as long as they have something to eat. We had a lot of snow cover this winter which has helped insulate any insects that overwinter and the cool wet soils are helping these soil pests remain active. Some are just waiting for their […]
Now that some of you have been fortunate enough to get some corn in, I am hearing reports and seeing tweets that soybean planting has also started. If there was a year to protect your soybeans with an insecticide seed treatment it is this year. Bean leaf beetles are going to be awfully hungry waiting […]
Some of you may have heard about this one in the news recently. The brown marmorated stink bug, BMSB for short, is the next invasive species that we need to be concerned about. It’s a triple threat since it not only feeds on hort crops but also field crops and overwinters in homes, becoming a […]
It was a great summer. Even though some fields didn’t see a lot of moisture, many had just enough to keep slugs going for most of the season. I often found slugs on soybean or dry bean plants even during the middle of summer. And now with all of the corn scouting we have been […]
Travelling the country side yesterday, I saw too much spider mite damage going out of control in soybean fields that were easy to spot from my car. Too many fields that still have some time to mature are seeing sure signs of spider mite activity. Some are already too late to control, as the mites […]
It hasn’t been since 2002 that we have experienced this low of levels of soybean aphids. Cross my fingers and knock on wood but I think we are going to get through the season without a problem. That said, spidermites are starting to pop up in fields, particularly where it is starting to get a […]
Anyone out there run some strip trials on soybean aphid this year in Ontario? If you have data you’d like to share with us, please send it to my email . Our research group has also run trials on some new chemistries and early season thresholds. Once the data is compiled, we will let you […]