insecticide

It's been a few weeks, but Matt and Erin have a new episode out today! Erin starts off by providing a statewide update on soybean pest populations in August. Good news is that most fields had low pest pressure in 2018. Matt shares his impressions of a recent court ruling that will ban chlorpyrifos use in the U.S. The episode title is a play off of Warren Zevon's song, "Lawyers, Guns and Money" from 1978. 

Today, Matt and Erin talk about noteworthy news items related to field crop pest management. But first, they talk about upcoming meetings they plan to attend. Both are attending the ICE (International Congress of Entomology) meeting in Orlando next week. And both plan on speaking at the annual ISU Integrated Crop Management Conference in Ames (Nov 29 - Dec 1). Erin will talk about a management plan for soybean aphid, particularly with suspected pyrethroid resistance in Iowa. Matt plans to talk about pollinators in field crops. In Minnesota, the governor proposes restrictions on neonicotinoids in agriculture and the implications for that are largely not understood. Also, the recent merger discussions between Bayer Crop Science and Monsanto also could change the ag industry in the U.S. and around the world. 

Today, Matt and Erin talk about the recent EPA proposal to revoke all tolerances to chlorpyrifos. This insecticide is an option in corn and soybean in Iowa and restricting or removing the use could have potential implications for field crop pest management. Matt shares a paper that shows a decrease of chlorpyrifos in corn but relatively steady use in soybean (doi:10.1088/1748-9326/10/9/094016). He isn't sure if revoking the use would have an immediate impact, but Erin offers a Coke analogy to say otherwise. To learn more about the EPA proposal and leave a comment, go here: http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2015-11-06/pdf/2015-28083.pdf. 

Yes, Phil, they are spraying for aphids in Iowa. Erin and I discuss where in Iowa soybean aphid outbreaks are occurring and the factors that help explain some of the variation in aphid populations between fields. The occurrence of two other pests are noted. Finally, Matt was interviewed on Agribusiness Reports about his lab's work on efforts to conserve bees. For more info see:
(Skip to 1:49): http://whotv.com/2013/08/27/agribusiness-hot-weather-threatens-promising-hog-market/

(Skip to 0:35): http://whotv.com/2013/08/28/agribusiness-researcher-says-bee-habitats-have-multiple-benefits-for-growers/