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Japanese beetle in corn and soybeans

by | Jul 5, 2017 | Ohio Country Journal

We have been hearing reports of Japanese beetles in corn and soybean. These beetles are large with a shiny copper and green color. Foliage feeding in corn is almost never economic, though economic damage from silk clipping is possible (though rare). Consider a rescue treatment when silks are clipped to less than half inch and, fewer than 50% of the plants have been pollinated, and the beetles are still numerous and feeding in the field.

Japanese beetles will also feed on soybean foliage. http://cropwatch.unl.edu/documents/soybean%20defoliation.png

Defoliation guide for soybean (University of Nebraska)

While the damage might look startling, it is very rare that this reaches economic levels from Japanese beetle. A rescue treatment is advised when defoliation levels reach 30% in pre-bloom stages, and 20% in bloom to pod fill. These defoliation levels apply to the plant as a whole, not just certain leaves. A visual guide to defoliation is useful because it is very easy to over-estimate defoliation in soybean. If there are other foliage-feeding insects present in soybean the same percent defoliation guidelines can be used for all of them collectively.