Today, ISU entomology graduate student, Mitchell Helton, captured the first adult soybean gall midge in Iowa. Just a few hours later, cooperator Lauren Botine (Corteva Agriscience), collected another adult. Currently, our traps are placed in fields infested with soybean gall midge in 2019. There was an earlier report of adults captured in Nebraska this week. This is approximately the same time as the first adult detections in 2019.
We used the “Illinois style” cages place on top of the soil to collect adults. The trapping locations were in Cass and Ida counties. Iowa has 7 trapping locations in 2020 and supports a regional trapping network. In total, there are 36 locations in four states.
If you had yield losses associated with soybean gall midge in 2018/2019, it is recommended you scout field edges for infested plants next week. Adults could be laying eggs, particularly on V3 or older plants. Consider a border treatment of foliar insecticides, if possible, to suppress the first generation impact this season. Continue scouting for plant injury as it likely will spread into the field interior over the summer.
Erin Hodgson Professor
Dr. Erin Hodgson started working in the Department of Entomology, now the Department of Plant Pathology, Entomology, and Microbiology, at Iowa State University in 2009. She is a professor with extension and research responsibilities in corn and soybeans. She has a general background in integrated...