News

A tough-to-control soybean pest showing up across MO

A beetle commonly found in the Delta region is being confirmed across Missouri this year and that pest can reduce yields at harvest.

University of Missouri Extension Entomologist Chase Floyd tells Brownfield there have been multiple reports of the Dectes stem borer, likely due to continuous soybean rotation.

“I think the driving factor of this is rising input costs,” he says. “With a legume like soybeans, you’re able to produce your own nitrogen instead of having to buy fertilizer for a corn crop.”

The Dectes stem borer overwinters in the ground and adult beetles emerge in June or July. The beetles feed on soybean plants and weeds, and lay eggs inside the plant stems. Floyd says after hatching, larvae do most of the damage inside the plant.

This time of the year, Floyd says the only way to tell if you’ve got the pest is to look for lodged soybeans in the field and then…

“If you go pull a plant, go below the trifoliate and take a pocket knife to split the stem in half and peel it back, you’ll find the larvae.”

Currently, there are no insecticides labeled to take care of the stem borer and Floyd says rotating corn and soybeans is the strongest pest management tool available to producers.

Floyd also says research is being done across the country to learn more about the pest.