Spraying likely targeting soybean podworms

By PHYLLIS ZORN

Staff writer

Crop sprayers have been seen over many Marion County soybean fields in recent weeks.

The likely reason is an appearance of soybean podworm, extension agent Rickey Roberts said.

Timing for podworms is right, Roberts said Monday, and the pests are very damaging to soybean crops.

Soybean podworms, also called corn earworms, winter in soil, then change to moths in the spring and lay eggs.

When pupa emerge from the eggs, they leave corn fields from mid-July to mid-August and seek soybean, cotton, and other crops.

The most catastrophic soybean crop damage happens when podworm larvae chew through pods to feed on soybean seeds that are nearly full size.

“The reason why they are running planes might be because it’s been wet and they can’t get ground equipment in,” Roberts said.

Army worms have received a great deal of attention recently, but Roberts said he doubted they were the problem with the soybean crop.

“There’s a bunch of army worms this year, but I don’t think it would be army worms,” Roberts said. “The army worms like grasses.

“I do have some concerns that if we start planting wheat early so we can take advantage of the moisture, the army worms could get to newly planted wheat this fall.”

The best thing to get rid of army worms is a freeze, but that makes wheat planting more difficult.

Other insects that damage soybeans include bean leaf beetles, dectes stem borers, pillbugs, seedcorn beetles and maggots, stink bugs, thistle caterpillars, soybean aphids, blister beetles, grasshoppers, spider mites, woolybear caterpillars, garden webworms, and green clover worms.

According to Kansas State Research and Extension, Kansas is the nation’s 10th largest producer of soybeans, with a yearly average of 4.7 million acres planted and 200 million bushels produced.

Area crops are looking good this year, Roberts said.