“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.

Insect pressure and unfavorable weather are two culprits that will steal any grower’s soybean yields long before harvest.

Although growers can’t predict what Mother Nature has in store for the 2009 growing season, they can protect their fields from sucking and chewing pests, such as soybean aphids, bean leaf beetles and Japanese beetles.

“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.

Yield loss isn’t the only problem insects can bring. Soybean aphids are “capable of transmitting a number of viruses present in the United States that naturally infect soybeans,” according to the alert.

University researchers have set the aphid threshold at 250 aphids per plant on 80 percent of the plants scouted.

To find out more from Purdue University on the soybean aphid, click here.

Soybean aphids increase at such a rapid rate that the females are essentially cloning themselves. The University of Minnesota Extension Web site explains that females give birth to live young nymphs at a rate of three to five per day. The female nymphs then mature in five to seven days and then begin producing their own young.

This speedy life cycle stresses the importance of scouting early and often because in an experiment when temperatures ranged from the mid 70s to early 80s – ideal conditions for aphids – populations doubled in as little as two days.

A 2001 study held in Houston, Minn., demonstrated the dynamics of soybean aphid populations. The field was colonized with soybean aphids when the plants reached the V1 to V2 stage (first and second trifoliate). Within four weeks, the entire field had been colonized and the populations increased dramatically. Just one week later, the densities reached five times the injury level at 5,000 per plant.

For more information on this population growth study from the University of Minnesota, click here.

“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.

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.

With the ever-changing commodity price of soybeans, many questioned whether the threshold number would change for numerous pests including soybean aphids. The North Central Extension entomologists reviewed the threshold in the summer of 2008 and decided to keep the recommendation at 250 aphids per plant.

The University of Wisconsin Extension Web site notes that growers should base scouting on a sample of 20 to 30 plants throughout the field. These plants are usually at R1 to R5 growth stages, (beginning bloom, first flower to 1/8″ seed in top four nodes).

This threshold level provides a seven-day window to treat fields before the economic yield loss occurs at 1,006 aphids per plant.

For more timely insect management information from the University of Wisconsin, click here.

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.

Leverage^® 2.7 insecticide helps protect soybean yields by providing control against the following yield-robbing pests: 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, whiteflies (other than sweetpotato whitefly).

For more information on pest protection from Leverage 2.7, contact your local Bayer CropScience representative or click here.

Bayer CropScience, 2 T.W. Alexander Drive, Research Triangle Park, NC 27709. Always read and follow label directions. 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 scouting soybeans for aphids, it’s important to understand the threshold numbers.

Currently, according to Iowa State University, threshold is 250 aphids per plant on 20 to 30 plants sampled throughout the field when aphid populations are on an active increase.

It is important to check the field regularly to determine if the populations are increasing. This threshold level provides approximately five to seven days for spraying before the aphids hit an economic injury level.

Also, keep in mind that aphid populations favor cool temperatures, plant stress (particularly drought stress) and a lack of aphid predators such as Asian lady beetles and lacewing larvae.

For more information from Iowa State University Extension, click here.

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.

Leverage® 2.7 insecticide provides protection from the devastation of soybean aphids. It provides both contact and in-plant protection. The in-plant, translaminar movement helps Leverage 2.7 to spread throughout the leaf. This allows control on the underside of the leaves where soybean aphids attack the plant.

Not only do growers gain protection from soybean aphids, but a broad spectrum of sucking and chewing pest including bean leaf beetles, stink bugs, plant bugs and adult corn rootworms.

For more information on the science behind and the pest protection from Leverage 2.7, contact your local Bayer CropScience representative or click here.

Bayer CropScience, 2 T.W. Alexander Drive, Research Triangle Park, NC 27709. Always read and follow label directions. 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.

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.

Growers have seen weeds and other pests increase resistance within the past couple of years. The two modes of action in Leverage 2.7 may help to combat insect resistance development.

For more information on the two modes of action and the pest protection from Leverage 2.7, contact your local Bayer CropScience representative or click here.

Bayer CropScience, 2 T.W. Alexander Drive, Research Triangle Park, NC 27709. Always read and follow label directions. 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.