Picture this: flourishing soybean fields. Green leaves, thick
canopy, strong stands and roots, an abundance of pods. Optimal
moisture, not too hot, not too cold. No disease or pest
incidence. The best possible soybean-growing environment you can
imagine. Now picture this: reality. Though the optimal growing
conditions may exist, the odds of no pests and disease are
pretty small, and chances are you'll deal with a variety of them
through the growing season. To alleviate the pain and pressure,
though, university and Extension personnel have a wealth of data
and advice to help combat those pesky pests and dreadful
diseases. Last growing season certainly saw its share of pests
and disease, along with not-so-optimal growing conditions around
soybean-producing regions of the U.S. From stink bugs in the
south to soybean cyst nematode (SCN) in the north, growers had
their hands full of managing beans under reality conditions.
“Minnesota was very dry in much of the soybean growing areas,
and diseases did not develop a