Early Fall Insect Scouting Guide and Tips

Emily Zobel, Agriculture Agent Associate
University of Maryland Extension, Dorchester County

Soybean: Keep scouting for stink bug, corn earworm, and leaf defoliators. Defoliation thresholds for R-stage soybean is 15-20% with defoliators present; however once the field has reached the R6 stage, defoliation thresholds can be relaxed. Bean leaf beetles may be found in fields but economic damage is rare in our area. Stink bugs will often aggregate in along fields edges, so make sure to check the middle of the field as well to see if the whole field needs to be treat or if you can just spot treat the edges. NC State Extension Stink Bug Economic Threshold Calculator can be used to help decide if it worth treating based on row with and bean type (https://soybeans.ces.ncsu.edu/stink-bug-economic-threshold-calculator/). As the month progress and fields get closer to harvest, sample stems in any field that have a history of Dectes stem borer issues. If your field has a large stem infestation, prioritize that field for as timely a harvest as possible to reduce loss due to lodging.

Sorghum: As fields reached the hard dough stages they are less likely to have sugarcane aphids. However, it worth keeping an eye out for honeydew, which can impended harvest, and aphids in any fields that were treated with an insecticide earlier this year and late fields that are younger than soft dough.

 

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