An Early-Planted Soybean Advantage??

According to Extension Agent reports I am seeing, insect pressure on soybeans has really intensified in some parts of the Midsouth. It seems that a plethora of insect pests, including a mix of armyworms, loopers, saltmarsh and velvetbean caterpillars, bollworms, and stink bugs, have or are reaching levels requiring treatment.

As you know, it is touted that early planting of soybean varieties that will mature from late July through mid-August is an effective management tool for avoiding these usual late-season infestations of insects. This season appears to be a good one to check just how important this early planting may be for avoiding the costly input of insecticide applications.

In order to do this, producers should keep a record of which varieties were planted on which dates and when they were past the stage that would be affected by damaging insects. This information can then be cross-checked against fields with insect infestations that required insecticide treatments according to thresholds for the individual insect species that were present in those fields.

I am assuming this will further verify one of the advantages of early planting of early-maturing soybean varieties in the Midsouth.

Composed by Larry G. Heatherly, Aug. 2016, larryheatherly@bellsouth.net