When pests feed on soybean plants, they potentially pose a great threat to a farmer’s yield. And, according to Ohio State University Entomologist Ron Hammond, the condition of a soybean plant is extremely important and directly affects profits.

“Most insects are leaf feeders,” Hammond said. “They cause a problem for growers because they destroy a portion of the plant that is necessary for plant growth.”

Leaf-feeding insects also affect seed quality, which can become an issue when soybeans are grown for the food grade market or used as seed for the following year, he explained.

To prevent sucking and chewing pests from robbing yield potential, growers can use Leverage^® 2.7 insecticide. Leverage 2.7 offers surface and translaminar protection while safeguarding the underside of soybean leaves from aphids.

Leverage 2.7 ingredients also deliver protection against pests, including soybean aphids, bean leaf beetles, Japanese beetles and adult corn rootworm.

For more information on pest protection from Bayer CropScience, visit the Leverage 2.7 product page here or contact your local Bayer CropScience representative.

Bayer CropScience, 2 T.W. Alexander Drive, Research Triangle Park, NC 27709. Always read and follow label instructions. Bayer, the Bayer Cross and Leverage are registered trademarks of Bayer. Leverage 2.7 is a Restricted Use Pesticide and is not registered in all states. For additional product information call toll-free 1-866-99-BAYER (1-866-992-2937) or visit our Web site at www.BayerCropScienceUS.com.

Extension researchers advise growers to scout, spray insecticide according to economic threshold

Applying insecticides at proper threshold levels is important when managing soybean aphids, according to university Extension researchers.

“Aphid infestations that peak at the R1–R2 growth stage of the host may cause stunted plants with reduced pod and seed counts, resulting in lower yields,” according to a North Central Pest Management Center “Soybean Aphid Regional Pest Alert” posted on the Purdue University Indiana Cooperative Agricultural Pest Survey Program Web site.

Janet Knodel, North Dakota State University entomologist, said a carefully timed application of Leverage® 2.7 insecticide in field trials last year helped maximize yields.

“Leverage 2.7 was applied to the soybeans once the aphid pressure reached economic threshold,” Knodel said. “It’s very important for growers to control insects when populations are at or above economic thresholds to avoid seeing yield loss.”

University researchers have set the aphid threshold at 250 aphids per plant on 80 percent of the plants scouted, which gives growers five to seven days to apply a treatment before aphids cause economic damage. The stink bug threshold is set at one stink bug per one foot of row.

For more information on pest protection from Bayer CropScience, visit the Leverage 2.7 product page here or contact your local Bayer CropScience representative.

Bayer CropScience, 2 T.W. Alexander Drive, Research Triangle Park, NC 27709. Always read and follow label instructions. Bayer, the Bayer Cross and Leverage are registered trademarks of Bayer. Leverage 2.7 is a Restricted Use Pesticide and is not registered in all states. For additional product information call toll-free 1-866-99-BAYER (1-866-992-2937) or visit our Web site at www.BayerCropScienceUS.com.

Protect soybeans from broad range of sucking, chewing insects

Soybean aphids are among some of the top yield-robbing pests in the Midwest; stink bugs are the main critters in the Mid-South; and whiteflies, bean leaf beetles and Japanese beetles make their nests on all the fields in between.

Thanks to the broad-spectrum insect control power of Leverage^® 2.7 insecticide, growers can combat these pests, and others, with just one product.

“Aphid infestations that peak at the R1–R2 growth stage of the host may cause stunted plants with reduced pod and seed counts, resulting in lower yields,” according to a North Central Pest Management Center “Soybean Aphid Regional Pest Alert” posted on the Purdue University Indiana Cooperative Agricultural Pest Survey Program Web site.

For Mid-South farmers, stink bugs can pack the biggest yield-damaging potential.

“Stink bugs can cause the most damage by sucking out juices that are vital to plant growth, and that can lead to yield loss,” said Russ Patrick, professor and Extension entomologist at University of Tennessee-Knoxville. “Depending on the infestation level, insects can cause up to 50 percent yield loss.”

Leverage 2.7 protects soybeans from yield-robbing sucking and chewing pests, including: aphids, bean leaf beetle, cabbage looper, corn rootworms (adult), cucumber beetles (adult), grasshoppers, green cloverworm, Japanese beetle (adult), June beetle (adult), Mexican bean beetle, saltmarsh caterpillar, Silverspotted skipper, soybean podworm/corn earworm, stink bugs, tarnished plant bug, threecornered alfalfa hopper, foliage-feeding thrips, velvetbean caterpillar and whiteflies (other than sweetpotato whitefly).

For more information on pest protection from Bayer CropScience, visit the Leverage 2.7 product page here or contact your local Bayer CropScience representative.

Bayer CropScience, 2 T.W. Alexander Drive, Research Triangle Park, NC 27709. Always read and follow label instructions. Bayer, the Bayer Cross and Leverage are registered trademarks of Bayer. Leverage 2.7 is a Restricted Use Pesticide and is not registered in all states. For additional product information call toll-free 1-866-99-BAYER (1-866-992-2937) or visit our Web site at www.BayerCropScienceUS.com.

When pests feed on soybean plants, they potentially pose a great threat to a farmer’s yield. And, according to Ohio State University Entomologist Ron Hammond, the condition of a soybean plant is extremely important and directly affects profits.

“Most insects are leaf feeders,” Hammond said. “They cause a problem for growers because they destroy a portion of the plant that is necessary for plant growth.”

Leaf-feeding insects also affect seed quality, which can become an issue when soybeans are grown for the food grade market or used as seed for the following year, he explained.

To prevent sucking and chewing pests from robbing yield potential, growers can use Leverage^® 2.7 insecticide. Leverage 2.7 offers surface and translaminar protection while safeguarding the underside of soybean leaves from aphids.

Leverage 2.7 delivers protection against pests, including soybean aphids, bean leaf beetles, Japanese beetles and adult corn rootworm.

For more information on pest protection from Bayer CropScience, visit the Leverage 2.7 product page here or contact your local Bayer CropScience representative.

Dave Lamore, Bayer CropScience technical service representative

Growers can start their soybeans off right with a systemic seed treatment such as Gaucho^® seed-applied insecticide. Gaucho is part of the Trilex^® 6000 Soybean System, providing growers six layers of early season protection for their soybean plants.

In addition to systemic protection, Gaucho also protects the plant’s roots by limiting damage caused by seedcorn maggot, soybean aphids and overwintering bean leaf beetle.

For later season control, spray Leverage^® 2.7 insecticide. Leverage 2.7 provides broad-spectrum control and residual protection to protect against sucking and chewing pests.

Leverage 2.7 also provides growers Stress Shield^™ protection from environmental stresses, leading to more vigorous, healthier plants. When crops are protected against stress, they have outstanding yield potential, including strong root growth and greater leaf size, early pod set, increased pod fill and better pod retention.

The remarkable value of Leverage 2.7 with Stress Shield is easy to understand, it is effective against insect pests, makes plants more vigorous, providing higher yield potential and more profit potential.

Soybeans treated with Trilex 6000 followed by Leverage 2.7 can exhibit healthier, larger soybeans, like those shown below in a Brownsburg, Ind., trial. The difference is visually compelling compared to the untreated soybeans on the left side of the sign.

For more information on Leverage 2.7 and Trilex 6000 Soybean System, click here.

Bayer CropScience, 2 T.W. Alexander Drive, Research Triangle Park, NC 27709. Always read and follow label instructions. Bayer (reg’d), the Bayer Cross (reg’d), Gaucho^®, Leverage^®, Stress Shield™ and Trilex^® are trademarks of Bayer. Leverage 2.7 is a Restricted Use Pesticide. For additional product information call toll-free 1-866-99-BAYER (1-866-992-2937) or visit our Web site at www.BayerCropScienceUS.com.

The name of the game in soybeans, like other crops, is harvesting the highest yield possible. One way to lose bushels in a hurry is from aphids.

According to Iowa State University Extension, 2003 on-farm strip trials in Iowa showed up to an 18 bu/A yield loss in the non-sprayed strip compared to the insecticide-treated strip for a aphid-infested field. Others states reported a yield loss as high as 25 bu/A when an infested field was left untreated. (more…)

Growers in the Midwest have been battling the potential decrease in yields from soybean aphids for at least nine years.

According to the University of Minnesota Extension, aphid populations build at a rapid pace, doubling in as little as two days under favorable conditions after they have invaded the soybean plan. This makes scouting and timely treatments important to help protect yields. (more…)

With aphids, the rapid reproduction and colonization can cause them to boom from one to 5000 on a single plant in as little as five weeks according to the University of Minnesota Extension.

Leverage® 2.7 insecticide provides growers with two modes of action against sucking and chewing pests. Additionally, one delivers fast pest knockdown while the other helps with residual control. This helps to provide protection for soybean plants longer with just one spray. (more…)

Sponsored by Leverage® 2.7 insecticide

This section will be regularly updated with information from different university Extension specialists, Bayer CropScience professionals, growers and retailers.