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Growers could face more insect pressure this spring

An agronomist with Ohio-based Seed Consultants says growers could face more insect pressure this year.  

Bill McDonald says he anticipates stink bugs will be an issue again because they overwinter as adults.

“The stink bug will overwinter as an adult,” he says. “Where you have a Woodline they’ll gather in there, they’ll go anywhere and stay high and dry and come out as adults and lay eggs and then it’s off to the races.”

He tells Brownfield stink bugs reduce yield by piercing crops.

McDonald says there is some good news though. With wet soils, many insects will not survive.  

“A person would naturally think that the corn rootworms have had an awfully tough time to survive,” he says. “When soils are saturated for as long as they’ve been saturated, it’s going to be very hard on the insects that winter below ground.”

He says growers should consider insecticides to deal with the pests.