Abstract
Due to pesticide application costs, many farmers will commonly tank mix a low‐cost pyrethroid insecticide with a fungicide to save an application cost. Research was conducted at Novelty and Portageville, MO, in 2011 and 2012 to evaluate the impact of an insecticide (lambda‐cyhalothrin at 0.025 lb a.i./acre) plus fungicide (pyraclostrobin at 0.098 lb a.i./acre) application at the R3 and R5 stages of soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.] development compared with insecticide applications made at threshold insect populations. Insect pest populations included 21 different types, while beneficial insects totaled 13 groups over the R3 to R7 insect monitoring period. At both locations, rainfall was below normal and none of the threshold monitored treatments reached insect pest populations that warranted an insecticide application during the 2 years of this research. An insecticide application at R3 decreased pest and beneficial insect populations compared with the nontreated control, while the R5 insecticide application decreased insect pest populations, but had no significant effect on beneficial insects (P = 0.13). There was no significant difference (P = 0.3) in grain yields for the insecticide and/or fungicide treatments at the four moderate‐yielding (38.4–40.2 bu/acre) site‐years. Scouting for insect pests was extremely important to avoid unnecessary crop production expenses especially in drought years where crop yields may be lower than normal.
Published Version
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