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Pest pressure picking up steam in Iowa

An extension agronomist says pest pressure is becoming more prevalent in Iowa crop fields.

Meaghan Anderson with Iowa State University says some infect feeding has been taking place.

“From both bean leaf beetles on soybeans and then a little bit of some black cutworm feeding on corn.”

She tells Brownfield additional pressure is expected in June.

“I expect that as both crops start to gain a little height, we’ll start to notice some more feeding out in fields from caterpillars out in soybeans. And then eventually toward the late part of June we’ll see Japanese beetles out in fields.”

Anderson says mid-to-late June is also the window where farmers start to find corn rootworm larvae in their fields.