Insects Still Plague Some Soybean Fields

By Don Molino, The Voice of Louisiana Agriculture Radio Network

Even though this year’s soybean harvest is moving closer and closer to being wrapped up, LSU AgCenter Extension Service Soybean Specialist Dr. Todd Spivey reports red-banded stink bugs are still an issue in some fields.

“In fact, I was looking at one of our studies the other day and the R8 beans were completely desiccated. I found three egg matches in about ten feet, one of them with the nymphs crawling around,” said Spivey. “Chances are these nymphs aren’t’ going to progress fast enough to cause an issue for this grower. But the adult stink bugs can still feed on R7 beans or R8 beans if they get a little rain and soften up just a hair.”

Red-banded stink bugs are still an issue and for any beans that haven’t’ been desiccated Spivey says it still might be a smart idea to look at putting an insecticide in with any desiccate applications.

“You just have to be careful with the pre-harvest interval on many of the insecticides. If you are dealing with issues and you think you can get out of your field really fast, you may be better off to leave out the insecticide and just cut the beans as quickly as you can,” Spivey recommended.