FMC provides guidance on stink bug pressure in soybeans

In spring, producers prepare to change the crop scenario, with the arrival of the 1st soybean harvest, or “summer soybeans”. According to CONAB, the expectation is that the 21/22 soybean harvest will reach a record number of 289,6 million tons produced. However, the producer must be aware of the warning brought by FMC, an agricultural science company, about the possible pressure of stink bugs in the crop.

According to Jedir Fiorelli, soybean and corn crop manager at FMC: "climate and temperature influence the pressure of pests and diseases, even more so with this immediate sequence of soybean – corn crops, which create conditions for the proliferation of stink bugs such as brown and green belly, the farmer's main concerns, together with the Spodoptera caterpillar, so it is important to take extra care to avoid economic damage", he advises.

The management of these bugs, in addition to others that occur less frequently, must be started in soybean crops as early as the first adult populations, and this must be a frequent activity, so that with monitoring, control can be achieved without impacting production. The end of the soybean cycle also requires a lot of attention, and interventions to control stink bugs, especially the green belly, thus avoiding high infestations in the following crops (corn).

In second-crop corn, control must take place in the initial phase of crop development, so that the first insecticide applications occur in the so-called toothpick phase, that is, around 1 to 2 days after the crop emerges. , but it is also recommended to continue with sequential applications;

Pests other than bed bugs can cause headaches. As recalled by Jedir, in the last harvest, the presence of the leafhopper was of great intensity and with it, the occurrence of stunting in the corn, and significant losses. To manage both pests in corn, he advises that the management of the stink bug in corn occurs at the same time as the leafhopper and, therefore, an insecticide that has good control for both must be chosen. Of course, in conjunction with other practices, avoiding the severe damage caused by leafhoppers.

Stink bugs must be considered as a pest of the soybean-corn production system, and control during crop transition is as important as if the crop were in full development, so the main guideline is to start controlling them from the smallest populations, this can be the solution for an interesting economic return to the farmer, in addition to being the key to successful management of this pest.

Technologies

To control stink bugs in the soybean and corn system, FMC relies on Hero and Talisman as control and management tools. And appropriate management will take place at each stage of planting. With insecticides to control bed bugs at each stage, FMC has Hero if the adult bed bug population worries the farmer, through its power to eliminate pests quickly. And Talisman delivers efficiency for the farmer who wants to keep the bedbug population low. In addition, Talisman is also a tool for controlling leafhoppers, in addition to aphids in corn.