Kudzu Bug Threatens Pennsylvania Soybeans
Potentially devastating pest to soybeans moving northward towards Pennsylvania
HARRISBURG, PA (July 9, 2013) –As Pennsylvania soybean producers scout their fields this summer, one new pest they should be on the lookout for is the kudzu bug, an exotic stink bug-like pest that is headed toward the state, says Dr. John Tooker, Assistant Professor of Entomology at Penn State. The pest has recently been reported in Maryland.
“It is much smaller and has an odder shape than your typical stink bug,” says Tooker. Tooker requests that if growers find evidence of the kudzu bugs in their fields, they report their findings to their local Penn State Extension office.
This invasive stink bug-like pest, also known as the bean plataspid, was first discovered on kudzu in the vicinity of Atlanta, Georgia, during the fall of 2009. From this initial introduction, kudzu bug quickly moved north, and became established as a severe economic pest of soybean in Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, Alabama, Tennessee and Florida. This year, the pest has also been reported in a few areas in Louisiana, Delaware and Maryland.
The United Soybean Board has collaborated with researchers at Clemson University, North Carolina State University, and University of Georgia to release a new guide for growers dealing with the kudzu bug. The guide includes information on how to identify the different life stages of the pest, where it can be found, how it lives, and current management practices for trying to manage this new invader.
Soybean growers can find the guide, a map showing the distribution of the pest, and more information on kudzu bug management, at www.kudzubug.org.
About the Pennsylvania Soybean Board
The Pennsylvania Soybean Board is a farmer-controlled Board responsible for managing Pennsylvania’s share of funds received from the nationwide Soybean Checkoff program. The funding is available under an assessment program, approved by Congress in 1990, under which soybean farmers contribute 50 cents of every $100 they receive for their beans at the first point of sale. Funds are used to develop markets, educate consumers, and research new ways to utilize and produce soybeans more efficiently.
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