2018
Influence of cover crops on early season insect pest dynamics in Mississippi soybeans
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Contributor/Checkoff:
Mississippi Soybean Promotion Board
Category:
Sustainable Production
Keywords:
Field management Nutrient managementSoil healthTillageYield trials
Parent Project:
This is the first year of this project.
Lead Principal Investigator:
Angus Catchot, Mississippi State University
Co-Principal Investigators:
Project Code:
Contributing Organization (Checkoff):
Mississippi Soybean Promotion Board
$50,121
Institution Funded:
Mississippi State University
$50,121
Brief Project Summary:

When cover crop termination is delayed to realize their maximum potential benefit, insect pest issues can arise due to the “green bridge” that allows insect pests to seamlessly move from the cover crop to the subsequent emerging summer cash crop. This research comprises experiments conducted to determine how cover crops can influence insect populations in a following soybean crop, investigate the use of various chemical control options, soybean plant populations, and time of cover crop termination to control these potential insect problems, and measure how various insect species in cover crops are affected by the use of neonicotinoid seed treatments applied to planted soybean seed.

Key Benefactors:
farmers, agronomists, extension agents

Information And Results
Final Project Results

Cover crop type–e.g. grass, legume, or natural vegetation–will affect the insect diversity in both the cover cropand the following soybean crop.Generally, legume cover crops will sustain more diverse insect populations that have the potential to be moredamaging to the following soybean crop.Using a neonicotinoid seed treatment tends to lessen diversity of insect populations in soybeans plantedfollowing cover crops, and also lessens the defoliating damage in the early stages of soybean development.Termination timing of cover crops did not affect insect pests, defoliation damage from these pests, and soybeanyield.In these short-term studies, cover crops did not result in a yield increase above that from soybeans followingnatural winter vegetation. View: https://www.mssoy.org/uploads/files/13-2018-catchot-cc-insects-final-report.pdf

The United Soybean Research Retention policy will display final reports with the project once completed but working files will be purged after three years. And financial information after seven years. All pertinent information is in the final report or if you want more information, please contact the project lead at your state soybean organization or principal investigator listed on the project.