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Insect & Pests

All Insect & Pests Content

A soybean field with green soybeans and patchy yellow areas.

Yellow Soybeans

Yellow soybean areas within fields are being noticed in some areas of the state. There are six factors which could be causing the soybean plant yellowing: nitrogen (N), potassium (K), or sulfur (S) deficiency, iron deficiency chlorosis (IDC), soybean cyst nematode (SCN), or yellow flash from Roundup application.

A soybean stem with several small nymphs and adults on it.

Why the 250 Threshold is Still Appropriate for Soybean Aphids

When gearing up for soybean aphid scouting, it is important to think about the population densities that warrant insecticide management.

A soybean root with several small white cysts growing on it.

Scout and Soil Test for the Soybean Cyst Nematode 

Soybean cyst nematode (SCN) is the main soybean production constraint in South Dakota. Soybean plants can be infested with SCN but may not display visible symptoms.

several small green leaves

Soybean Pests: Bean Leaf Beetles and Bean Pod Mottle Virus

With the number of bean leaf beetle observations in soybean fields during 2016, the need for monitoring soybean for Bean pod mottle virus (BPMV) development increases. Bean pod mottle virus was first identified in South Dakota in 1998, and is recognized as a very economically important disease in soybean due to the potential for it to cause devastating losses to soybean yields.

A group of white, transparent, and orange colored larva on a soybean stem

Gall Midge Larvae in Soybean Stems

Gall midge larvae were observed recently in soybean stems from a field in South Dakota. These insects were found under the epidermis of the stem that was slightly above the soil line.

small white larvae on a green stem

Small red maggots under your soybean plants’ epidermis? We have answers.

In 2015, we received plant samples of soybean that had small red maggots under the epidermis. Now, in 2017, we are starting to receive reports of these same insects being found under the epidermis of soybean in different parts of South Dakota.

A small, green, winged insect sitting on a soybean leaf.

First Soybean Aphid Populations Detected in South Dakota

While scouting fields this week, we observed winged (alate) soybean aphids in Southeast South Dakota.

a small red bug on a green leaf

Overwintering S.D. Bean Leaf Beetles: 2017 predicted mortality

The overwintering generation of bean leaf beetle adults emerge in the spring and can cause serious defoliation injury to seedling soybean plants. However, the abundance of overwintering bean leaf beetles is negatively affected when the air temperatures get too cold. Therefore, an estimate of the emerging populations can be made based on how cold the winter was.

an image of a field of soybeans

Soybean Production: Cost-effective pest management practices

Chemicals were one of the most expensive individual costs in soybean production, behind only to seed in the non-land cost category. The average cash-rent soybean production farms incurred a crop chemical cost of $39/ac in 2015, an 88% increase from 2010.

soybean pods

New Multi-State Extension Publication: Managing Insecticide-Resistant Soybean Aphids

The first pyrethroid resistant soybean aphids were reported in Minnesota in 2015. Since then, pyrethroid resistant soybean aphids have been reported in Iowa, North Dakota, and South Dakota. In an effort to address resistance, researchers from those states have put together a new extension publication.