Scouting Patrol: Georgia farmer ready for action as soon as insects, diseases reach thresholds
The weather isn’t the only thing heating up. As we move into the prime growing season for soybeans, insects and fungal-disease threats rise along with the temperature.
However, Walter Godwin, soy checkoff farmer-leader from Pelham, Georgia, is very careful with how he applies treatments. He says scouting is key when deciding whether to spray.
“The University of Georgia does studies on thresholds for insects, such as 20 bugs per plant, and I use their recommendations as guidelines for when to spray,” Godwin says. “So if the threshold is 20 bugs per plant, and you see five or 10 bugs, the bugs are not doing enough damage to justify the cost of spraying the insecticide.”
Right now, Godwin is seeing a few insects in his fields.
“We’re seeing soybean loopers (pictured above), a few stinkbugs and some army worms in the oldest beans right now, so I’m preparing to spray them,” Godwin says. “My youngest beans are not at the threshold where we need to spray yet.”
Scouting to see if university thresholds are being met pays off in more ways than one.
“I rely on the university’s data, because I only want to spray when it’s needed,” Godwin explains. “I aim to use insecticides and fungicides both economically and sustainably.”
Scouting can be a waiting game for insects as you keep an eye on them. Any indication of fungi, however, calls for more immediate action. Fungicides protect the plant from fungal growth, but don’t kill the fungus, so applying fungicides when the fungus is first observed is critical.
“If you see signs of a fungus, you need to spray for it,” Godwin says. “In this hot and humid weather, fungus growth can quickly get out of control.
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