Soybean Sentinel Plot Update

The Pennsylvania Soybean Promotion Board is funding a Sentinel Plot Program, which is being managed by Penn State Extension and The Dept. of Entomology.

In this effort, Penn State Extension Educators are regularly scouting eighteen ‘typical’ soybean fields in thirteen counties across the state, reporting the populations of plant pathogens and insect pests that they find

Reports from the past week indicate that insect and disease populations remain low. The main pests being reported include bean leaf beetles and slugs, though one report notes grasshoppers are becoming active. No diseases have been reported yet.

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. Growers should be sure to check their own fields to determine your local populations, but these reports will give you a sense of what pests are active in fields. Our reports are distributed via this weekly newsletter, Penn State’s Field Crop News, and will be available in the next day or two on Penn State’s Field Crop Entomology website.