Dectes stem borer, an insect that tunnels in soybean plants, is
now found in significant numbers in soybean fields surveyed in
12 counties in southeast Missouri. Some fields have 85% of the
plants infested, says Kelly Tindall, entomologist at the
University of Missouri (MU) Delta Research Center, Portageville,
Mo. The insect can cause mature plants to fall over, or lodge,
at harvest time in the fall. Adult stem borers, also known as
longhorn beetles, started emerging in late July from
overwintering burrows in the dried soybean stems left in crop
fields after harvest last year. Tindall reported on the pest at
the MU Crop Injury Diagnostic Clinic at MU Bradford Research and
Extension Center, Columbia. Extension specialists and commercial
crop advisers from across the state attended two two-day
training sessions starting July 28. Surveys by MU entomologists
found stem borers in low numbers in major soybean counties along
the Missouri River from St. Charles to St. Joseph and as far
north as DeKalb and Lewis count