Soybean Aphid Populations Persisting And Increasing

 

 

While scouting soybean last week, we noticed that aphid populations near Volga, SD were steadily increasing from the previous week (Figure 1). Although the soybean aphids in the field are still well below the economic threshold of an average of 250 aphids per 20 plants, there were a few hotspots that will be monitored in the following weeks. Our peak count was 376 soybean aphids on a single plant. However, the average for the field was 39 soybean aphids per plant. Soybean aphids are typically more of an issue later in the season (July-August), but their populations are already present and steadily increasing. It will be important to not delay and start scouting within the next week to prevent any surprise outbreaks from occurring.