Tips on scouting for Dectes stem borer in soybeans
The Dectes stem borer is native to Kansas and can infest soybeans. Insect damage to the stem makes the plant very susceptible to lodging, which may result in harvest losses. Scouting for Dectes while the soybeans are still green can assist in helping avoid more yield loss at harvest.
Soybean insect activity - Dectes stem borers
In the last week, many soybean fields have been scouted around north central Kansas and found no significant infestations of early-season defoliators. However, a large number of adult Dectes stem borers were sampled. The numbers revealed in sampling this past week were higher than usual. Fields that have high infestations later in the summer need to be harvested at a high priority to prevent lodging.