Farmers' Awareness and Use of IPM for Soybean Aphid Control: Results from the 2005 Survey

In response to the introduction and rapid spread of soybean aphid as a major new invasive pest of soybean in North America. A multi-state project, Soybean Aphid in the North Central US: Implementing IPM on a Landscape Scale, was initiated to help transition the North Central US soybean industry to a sustainable and ecologically-based IPM system for soybean aphid. In the first of a series of annual surveys designed to track changes in IPM implementation and adoption over time, 742 farmers in Iowa, Michigan, and Minnesota were surveyed in early 2005. Thirteen percent of the farmers indicated they had treated for soybean aphid in 2004, and they had treated an average of 50% of their soybean acreage. Overall, the farmers showed a fairly good understanding of soybean aphids and their impact on soybeans. Seventy-five percent said aphids damaged their soybeans by sucking sap. Seventy-seven percent said the frequency with which aphids should be treated for profitable control depends on aphid counts, weather conditions, and plant stage. Thirty-seven percent believed that aphids can inflict significant damage at any growth stage; 29% believed that aphids inflict the most yield damage during early flowering through pods set (R1-R3). Sixty-six percent considered the lowest average aphid density for profitable insecticide spraying to be 250 aphids per plant. Over all three states, 84% of the farmers said the most important information for making a decision to treat soybean aphids was scouting reports; 54% said plant growth stage was very important in their decision.