News

Corn aphids causing concern

The outreach agronomist with the Illinois Soybean Association says corn aphids are causing concerns.

Stephanie Porter tells Brownfield several areas are seeing elevated numbers of the pest.

“The scary thing about the aphids is they can explode quickly.”  She says, “They do like cool conditions. It also is an indicator of stress.”

She says high populations can impact corn pollination.

“If they get really heavy and cause that honeydew, sooty mold grows on their feces.”  She says, “So if that gets all covered across the tassel, that could interfere with pollination.”

Porter says they’re also seeing hybrid specific issues.

“You can see that if there’s two hybrids in the field, and sometimes you can see it to the line,” she says.

Porter says aphid populations have been found to increase following an insecticide application due to elimination of natural predators.  She says pyrethroids have been most effictive controlling the aphids.

Porter encourages farmers to continue scouting their fields.

AUDIO: Stephanie Porter – outreach agronomist @ Illinois Soybean Association