Soybean Insecticides: Scout First

Ron Hammond, Ohio State University Extension Entomologist, and John Obermeyer and Larry Bledsoe, Purdue University Extension Entomologists, have a shared voice when it comes to insecticide applications in soybeans: “Scout first and resist the urge to ‘clean up’ insects in your soybean fields.”

Dr. Hammond articulates this point well, discussing the potential effect of unjustified insecticide applications on honeybees. Specifically, he discusses the impact on bees:

Although soybean aphids remain at low levels in Ohio, we are aware that many growers are adding insecticides to tanks when spraying fungicides and even late applications of herbicides [without regard for insect thresholds]. We do NOT recommend an insecticide application UNLESS there is a real need. Remember that numerous insecticides have a caution statement on their label about spraying around bees and blooming crops. The typical statement is: “This product is highly toxic to bees exposed to direct treatment or residues on blooming crops or weeds.”

Listen to my full podcast about this subject here: