During insect counts in 2024, remarkably low pest populations were observed at R3 across all six field research sites. “Several of the locations had elevated stink bug and/or bean leaf beetle populations at R5, though none exceeded an economic threshold,” said Dr. Nick Seiter, assistant professor and field crops entomologist at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. “Based on these counts, we would not expect yield differences among our treatments at harvest, so it will be interesting to see if this is in fact the case.”

Seiter is leading an Illinois Soybean Checkoff-funded project assessing the impact of insect pests on yield and the ROI of pest control inputs. The research was established at four university research farms, one community college demonstration plot, and one commercial farm.

Learn more about this project and stay tuned for results from the 2024 growing season: https://fieldadvisor.org/insect-pests-effects-on-yield-roi-of-pest-control/.

If you’re a farmer interested in hosting this research on your farm in 2025, fill out an interest form for Illinois Soybean Association’s On-Farm Trial Network: https://forms.monday.com/forms/b4567ffff85add8acc1c05b2987ef32a?r=use1.