Penn State Extension educators are regularly scouting 30 or so “typical” soybean fields in 23 counties across the state, reporting the populations of plant pathogens and insect pests they find.

The goal is to inform the agricultural community of what pests are active across the state and to give farmers a sense of what to expect when they scout their own fields as part of an IPM program.

The Soybean Sentinel Plot Program is being funded by the Pennsylvania Soybean Promotion Board and managed by Penn State’s Department of Entomology.

Scouting reports

With planting delayed in many parts of the state, reports have been limited.

Regardless, the reports indicate low pest populations in soybean fields being scouted.

Right now, fields range from VC to V4 stage, reflecting the challenges growers are having getting the crop in the ground. The bean leaf beetle and slugs are the main pests that are active, but pest populations are small. Diseases have yet to develop.

Pests that were found during scouting are listed below with their severity, rated on a 1-10 scale with 10 being the highest and 1 being lowest. A severity score of 1 equates to 10% or less infestation or defoliation, a 2 aligns with 20% or less infestation or defoliation, and so on:

June 11

Lancaster County, Jeff Graybill:

Bradford County, Casey Guindon:

Mercer County, Claire Coombs:

Crawford County, Joel Hunter:

June 10

Franklin County, Brittany Clark:

York County, Heidi Reed:

June 4

Butler County, Justin Brackenrich:

June 3

Beaver County, Justin Brackenrich:

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