Decreasing the environmental impacts of soybean aphid management

Background

The number of soybean acres treated with broad-spectrum insecticides has increased 140-fold since the invasion of the soybean aphid in 2011. Growers are requesting more economically and environmentally efficient options to protect their yield.

Pest-resistant crop lines offer one alternative to heavy spraying. At least nine soybean aphid-resistance genes have been identified to date, but few of today’s commercially available resistant varieties are suitable for Minnesota growing conditions. This project will close that gap for local growers by developing a selection of soybean aphid-resistant lines appropriate for our state.

Researchers will also focus on lowering the burden of pest scouting for growers with the use of new drone technology. The time-intensive nature of traditional pest scouting has led some growers to bypass it, applying broad-spectrum insecticides preventively regardless of aphid density. Fortunately, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV’s) show promise as a more convenient option for estimating pest damage and insect counts across a field. The ability to quickly gather this information will help farmers apply insecticides on a truly as-needed basis, reducing cost, environmental impact and risk of chemical resistance.

Research questions

• Can we develop aphid-resistant soybean varieties that are adapted to Minnesota growing conditions?
  
  
• How can we use UAV’s to estimate where and how abundant soybean aphids are in a field?
  

Practical implications

This work will help growers reduce their annual insecticide use by improving prevention and treatment of the soybean aphid. It will develop Minnesota-specific, aphid-resistant soybean lines and evaluate the use of UAV’s (drones) to quickly scout for aphids prior to insecticide application.

Details

Funding:

$570,000

Collaborators:

A portion of this project is jointly funded by the Minnesota Soybean Research & Promotion Council

Research Team:

Robert Koch, principal investigator

Theresa Cira, post-doctoral associate

Siddhi Bhusal, post-doctoral associate

Aaron Lorenz, co-investigator

Demoz Gebre Egziabher, co-investigator