Virgil Schmitt,
crops field specialist
Situation
In late summer 2003, large portions of eastern and southeastern Iowa experienced
high numbers of soybean aphids. Because this portion of Iowa is close to neighboring
states, information from other universities and from industry sources was available.
Conflicting information resulted in much confusion about soybean aphid thresholds
at various stages of soybean maturity, as well as confusion about insecticide
selection.
Response
A four-state (Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, and Wisconsin) videoconference was
scheduled, in which researchers and extension specialists from each state shared
research results and general observations about what worked and what did not.
The culmination was a consistent set of guidelines for soybean aphid management,
which was agreed upon by the land-grant universities in the upper mid-west.
There were 11 sites for the video program in Iowa, including sites in Burlington
and DeWitt.
Impact
Thirty-nine dealers and producers attended the videoconference in DeWitt, and
21 attended in Burlington. The attendees were asked how many soybean acres they
scouted or managed in 2003 and what the estimated increased profit per acre
would have been had the information from the meeting been available on August
1, 2003. While not all attendees returned an evaluation, respondents in DeWitt
responsible for 219,600 acres of soybeans estimated that the improved profits
would have been $27 per acre, or a total of $5,930,000. Respondents in Burlington
responsible for 77,300 acres of soybeans estimated that the improved profits
would have been $32.34 per acre, or a total of $2,499,500. Although we hope
not to see a repetition of the 2003 problems with soybean aphid soon, the information
gathered should have a comparable impact on profits in the future.
Page maintained by Linda Schultz, lschultz@iastate.edu
