Overview of reports from around Pennsylvania
This week, we have reports from extension educators from seventeen fields in nine counties. Their reports cover fields in growth stages spanning R3 to R6. This time of year, it is important to note the growth stage of soybeans because for most insects and diseases, there is usually no economic benefit to treating fields with insecticides and fungicides once they reach R6.
Our scouting continues to find low insect and disease populations. As usual for this time of year, our reports noted bean leaf beetle, grasshoppers, and Japanese beetle as the main insect pests that were active, but other species, including stink bugs, were found, but none at concerning levels. For diseases, we found a greater diversity this week, but downy mildew was most abundant, and some fields had white mold, which can be concerning. Scout your own fields to learn what is active in your area. Good luck!
Background on the project
This growing season, the Pennsylvania Soybean Promotion Board is funding a Soybean Sentinel Plot Program, which is being managed by the Department of Entomology at Penn State and executed by Penn State Extension. In this effort, Penn State Extension Educators are regularly scouting about 25 'typical' soybean fields in about 20 counties across the state, reporting the populations of plant pathogens and insect pests that they find. Our goal is to inform the agricultural community about which pests are active across the state, so folks will have a sense of what to expect when they scout their own fields as part of an IPM program. It would be inappropriate to use these reports to justify insecticide applications.
In the reports below, pests that were found during scouting are listed with their severity, which is rated on a 1-10 scale with 10 being the highest. A severity score of 1 equates to 10% or less infestation or defoliation, a "2" aligns with 20% or less infestation or defoliation, and so on. Growers should be sure to check their own fields to determine your local populations, but these reports will indicate which pests are likely to be active in fields. Our reports are distributed via this weekly newsletter and are available via the Penn State Extension website (then search for "soybean sentinel plot").
Source : psu.edu