Soybean Pest Podcast Iowa State University

It's a low-key episode that features new intro and outro-music and a new pest noted in our round up (grasshoppers).


Erin's had a long week talking about corn rootworms. We recap the current insect species occuring in soybean fields (grasshoppers, Japanese beetles, soybean aphids, a mix of caterpillars). Some pests are no longer present on the plants as the second generation is developing as immature stages in the soil. These are gall midges and bean leaf beetles. Matt tries to bring her spirits up with two trivia question. The first is a bit silly, noting the music videos on youtube that have been viewed over one billion times. The second question is a FIT that Erin gets immediately. Erin's on a roll.


see you next week, and as always, consider scouting your fields.


Matt

Part two is an interview with our listener, Dr. Dominic Reisig of North Carolina State University.


Dr Reisig is a Professor and Extension specialist in the Entomology and Plant Pathology Department. Dominic develops pest management programs for insects pests of corn, soybean cotton and small grains. https://cals.ncsu.edu/entomology-and-plant-pathology/people/ddreisig/. Hes’ a long time listener and first time visitor to the SPP.  We invited him onto discuss stink bugs as pest of corn.


The majority of our discussion this week is about four stink bug species (brown, southern green, green and the brown marmorated stink bugs) that can attack corn in the south. Dominic identifies stink bugs as the number one pest of corn in North Carolina. For more details visit this website: https://corn.ces.ncsu.edu/stink-bug-management-in-corn/.


We discuss how best to sample stink bugs on corn when there is a risk of feeding on the ear. To see this scouting in action, watch this youtube video. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IUXf15Q-VuU&list=PLlmI2LdCTo8yP0eWDpUmVZe5gMkkoPzDt&index=11


Finally, we get to a F.I.T. for a Big 12 vs ACC showdown. Erin goes head-to-head against Dominic with a simple question about the etymology of the name for the family of insects to which stink bugs belong, the Pentatomidae.

This week's podcast is a long one that we split into two parts. 


Part one is our usual pest round out. Erin gives us a quick summary of the insects active in soybeans. It’s the usual for this time of year, Japanese beetles, rootworms in corn, gall midges in soybeans and potato leaf hoppers in alfalfa.   


Soybean gall midges are active now and to find more information on what to look for when scouting, visit this website: https://soybeangallmidge.org/


Part two is an interview with our listener, Dr. Dominic Reisig of North Carolina State University.


Dr Reisig is a Professor and Extension specialist in the Entomology and Plant Pathology Department. Dominic develops pest management programs for insects pests of corn, soybean cotton and small grains. https://cals.ncsu.edu/entomology-and-plant-pathology/people/ddreisig/. Hes’ a long time listener and first time visitor to the SPP.  We invited him onto discuss stink bugs as pest of corn.

Here at the soybean pest podcast, we do not limit ourselves to our namesake. After Erin summarizes ongoing effortst to track insect pests of soybeans, we look to Iowa's other commodity, corn. She breaks down the progress of soybean aphids, Japanese beetles, thistle caterpillars and  leaf hoppers (in the drought plagued corner of nortwest Iowa). We discuss corn rootworms, and old wives tale connecting rootworms to lighting beetles and a surprise attack of stink bugs to a corn field in southeastern Iowa. If you want more immediate pest alerts, consider joining the Midwest Pest Alert Network: https://pestalerts.extension.iastate.edu/


After the pest talk, Erin shares a new insect identification challenge from University of Nebraska. See how well you do against Professor Doctor Erin, she scored a 97%. https://4h.unl.edu/online-insect-id-contest?fbclid=IwAR1uNzEBoqEgQx9QYc…


Matt completes the pod with a Fun Insect Trivia question.  What do the four insects have in common? Below are the scientific names that he tries to pronounce. If you look up the common names, you'll immediately learn the answer.

1.Aphis nerii


2.Tetraopes tetrophthalmus

3.Oncopeltus fasciatus


4.Danaus plexippus


 

Erin and Matt recap a week that saw several firsts for 2022.


Soybean aphids were first sighted, so too were thistle caterpillars, and Japanese beetles.  We are obligated to encourage you to scout for these pests, as the season goes on. Thier first appearance is not a cause for alarm, just a reminder that these potential pests may cause trouble later in the season.


If you value updates about pests, consider signing up for pest-alerts:

https://pestalerts.extension.iastate.edu/


After summarizing 5 different pests (soybean aphids, Japanese beetles, Thistle caterpillars, gall midge, Armyworms), Matt introduces 2022's first Fun Insect Trivia question.


For more about the topic of the F.I.T., visit these websites:

https://www.weareiowa.com/article/tech/science/environment/iowa-invasiv…

https://www.inhf.org/blog/blog/5-of-iowas-most-invasive-species-and-how…

Despite a slow start to planting, some insects are starting to respond to emerging soybeans.


In this episode Erin and Matt kick off the 13th season on the 13th of June with a brief discussion of the spiders on Stranger Things before getting into soybean pest activity. Erin reviews predictions about bean leaf beetle winter mortality and subsequent activity on spring emerging soybeans.  Erin also reviews her groups work tracking several lepidopteran pests (that’s a bunch of moth species that feed as caterpillars on corn and soybeans).  Matt notes that it’s not just soybeans that these hungry beetles are feeding on.


For more details about the overwintering survival of bean leaf beetles- https://crops.extension.iastate.edu/cropnews/2022/04/another-tough-winter-bean-leaf-beetle


Erin and her technician Ashley Dean have developed a pest alert system. Visit this website for more details- https://pestalerts.extension.iastate.edu/.


If you are looking for an interesting event about pollinators, visit ISU’s Pollinator Fest on 25 June at Rieman Gardens, just south of the Jack Trice stadium.