Just last week, Ashley Dean predicted overwintering mortality of bean leaf beetle in Iowa. It looked pretty grim for this soybean pest, with over 77% mortality predicted for central Iowa. I didn’t have high hopes for a new insecticidal seed treatment study going in at the ISU Johnson Farm just south of Ames. While we were getting ready to plant today, it started to rain just a bit, too. As we were driving to the plot site, Ashley sent me a picture a bean leaf beetle she saw just west of the Johnson Farm while she was checking moth traps. There isn’t any soybean up at the farm yet so I imagine it will be very hungry when our plots emerge.
If you are the first-planted beans in the neighborhood or you have alfalfa that has resumed growth, you may want to check your stands for bean leaf beetle.
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- Professor
- Extension Entomologist Specialist
- ANR Crops Team Leader
- Extension Education Specialist, Entomology