Soybeans in Greene County continue to stay ahead of other areas in the state, but some pests are becoming more prevalent.

Landus Cooperative Field Agronomist Dan Bjorklund says compared to what the latest Crop Progress and Condition Report from the Iowa Department of Agriculture, most soybean fields were at the flowering and pod setting stages, while most of Greene County was on the seed filling stage. However, Bjorklund notes there are several pests that have been spotted. He talks about one pest he started seeing earlier this month.

“And all of a sudden you start to see leaves that the main veins are still there, but all of the material between veins looks like it’s been skeletonized. That is the beginning of Sudden Death Syndrome, and I expected it, we had wet weather early. Sudden Death Syndrome is something that we’ve dealt with in Greene County for years now. There are seed treatments that really help to alleviate that and reduce it quite a bit.”

Bjorklund notes the other pests include root rot and white mold. Of the pests that Bjorklund mentions, the one that has the greatest potential for most yield loss is white mold. He adds that white mold can eliminate 20-30 bushels per acre very quickly.