Stink Bugs, including the Brown Marmorated type (BMSB), have begun to show up in soybean fields around the state.

The Plant Management Network has developed a webcast titled “Impact and Management of BMSB in Mid-Atlantic Soybean”.
This talk by Virginia Tech entomology professor Ames Herbert Jr., covers:

• Patterns of field infestation by BMSB;
• Conditions that may predispose soybean fields to infestation;
• The impact of BMSB feeding on soybean seed and yield;
• Field management practices that have proven successful with growers; and
• Insecticide efficacy comparisons

Find the webcast at
http://www.plantmanagementnetwork.org/edcenter/seminars/soybean/BMSB/

This 20-minute presentation is open access through November 30, 2013. Viewers can also opt to see a 2-minute executive summary version of the presentation. This shorter executive summary version is permanently open access courtesy of the United Soybean Board and supported by your New Jersey Soybean Board.

Commercial Growers, Crop Consultants, and Ag Industry personnel
are invited to attend a RCE Field Crop Twilight Meeting

Date: Sep 10th, 5PM – Dusk
Location: Rutgers Snyder Research and Extension Farm, Pittstown, NJ
Please RSVP by 9/6/13 to (908) 788-1339

Dinner 5:00PM
Wagon Tour:
Stop 1: 67 Full season soybean varieties; evaluating soybean resistance to white mold
Stop 2: Double crop soybean variety trial following canola evaluating 65 soybean varieties resistance to white mold
Stop 3: Field corn variety study evaluating different fertilizer treatments
Stop 4: Field corn trial comparing different liming agents
Stop 5: Irrigation pond management
Stop 6: Agronomic production issues for corn mazes

Commercial Growers, Crop Consultants, and Ag Industry personnel
are invited to attend a RCE Field Crop Twilight Meeting

Date: Sep 10th, 5PM – Dusk
Location: Rutgers Snyder Research and Extension Farm, Pittstown, NJ
Please RSVP by 9/6/13 to (908) 788-1339

Dinner 5:00PM
Wagon Tour:
Stop 1: 67 Full season soybean varieties; evaluating soybean resistance to white mold
Stop 2: Double crop soybean variety trial following canola evaluating 65 soybean varieties resistance to white mold
Stop 3: Field corn variety study evaluating different fertilizer treatments
Stop 4: Field corn trial comparing different liming agents
Stop 5: Irrigation pond management
Stop 6: Agronomic production issues for corn mazes

A number of calls have come in about Palmer amaranth in soybeans and what can be done. First of all, if the plants have been sprayed with glyphosate and they did not die, then they are likely to be glyphosate-resistant and spraying more glyphosate will not kill them. Products like Pursuit or Reflex will not control Palmer amaranth plants larger than 5 to 6 inches. Options are limited to Gramoxone, handweeding, or mowing.

After corn harvest, some fields may need to be mowed or sprayed with Gramoxone to prevent late-season seed production.

Late-season management of Palmer amaranth to reduce or prevent seed production is not easy or convenient, but it will pay dividends in the future. Removing the plants prior to harvest will reduce the spread of the seed within the field and from field to field. If a single plant can produce 500,000 seeds; spread over an acre that is 10 seeds per square foot. You can quickly see how eliminating seed production and preventing the spread of seed with equipment is a tremendous help.

You may have read in different farming publications about the presence of bean platasipid (Megacopta cribraria), or more commonly the kudzu bug, in the southeastern US.
It is referred to as the kudzu bug because it has a tendency to feed on kudzu. This is not necessarily a bad thing in the south where kudzu is an exotic invasive species.

In the southeastern US kudzu bug has become a concern because it is also a pest of soybeans. This stink bug species is smaller than brown marmorated stink bug and has a different shape. Like brown marmorated stink bug it also can overwinter in homes.

This stink bug species was discovered in Georgia in 2009 and has since spread through out the southeast and is heading north. The kudzu bug has most recently been found in Sussex County Delaware. It has also been found in Maryland in Prince George, Charles, Calvert, and Anne Arundel counties. As kudzu bug is a soybean pest we need to keep a watchful eye for it here in New Jersey.

Over the past few days I have received several reports of large grasshopper populations in several soybean fields.

Initially, grasshoppers tend to occur along field edges and areas near drainage ditches. No economic damage has been reported due to grasshoppers yet, but consider this an early warning to scout fields. There are no good thresholds established for grasshoppers in corn or soybeans. Generally, consider treatment in pre-bloom soybeans if grasshoppers are present and 40% or more defoliation is encountered. When in the pod forming and pod filling stages treatment is recommended with 20% or more defoliation.