A brief overview of pest complex in soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merill] and their management

Abstract

Brazil is the leading producer of soybean and India stands 5th in position in terms of production. In India soybean is mainly grown as a kharif season crop. Soybean, the 'wonder crop', is a rich edible oil and protein source. It is one of the most attractive Agricultural crops in the world. But unfortunately, this crop is also attractive to dozens of insect pests that infest this crop throughout the growth period, like the girdle beetle,stem fly, semilooper, pod borer, leaf miner, tobacco caterpillar, and many sucking pests like whitefly, aphid, thrips, leaf hopper, etc. These insect pests are one of the major constraints in the productivity of soybean. So, an elaborate knowledge of these insect pests is very necessary to tackle this issue. This article discusses different insect pests that attack soybean crops in their different growth stages, along with their other hosts, bionomics, and typical damage symptoms. This article also covers the Incidence of different insect pests and pest-predator profiles during the kharif period. The economic threshold level (ETL) of important insect pests and their integrated management are mentioned here for better management of the pests.