Caterpillars are eating into my soybean pods and reducing grain. How do I time control for pod borer in soybean?
How do I control pod borer in soybean before it damages the pods (soybean)?
DDeepak Mehta5mo ago · 250 views
6 Answers
🌾Farmer.in Krishi TeamExpert ✓5mo ago
Pod borers like Helicoverpa and the soybean leaf and pod feeders do the most damage during flowering and pod filling, so monitoring from flowering is key to catching them before larvae bore into pods. Use pheromone traps for Helicoverpa and scout the crop for eggs and small larvae, and encourage natural enemies and birds with perches. Act when larvae cross the local economic threshold rather than spraying on a fixed date. A biological option like NPV or Bt can be used against small larvae, while chemical control is for higher pressure, always per label and PHI. Avoid repeated use of the same insecticide to delay resistance. Get the threshold and the recommended rotation of products for this season from your local KVK.
RRohit Patidar5mo ago
Pheromone traps gave me early warning. I sprayed only when I saw small larvae instead of a fixed calendar spray, and saved money while still protecting the pods.
MManish Sharma5mo ago
I put up bird perches across the field and the birds picked off a lot of the caterpillars on their own. Together with scouting for the small larvae it kept the numbers down so I needed fewer sprays. Encouraging the natural enemies costs almost nothing and really helps in soybean.
SSourabh Rathore4mo ago
One caution, do not keep spraying the same insecticide again and again, because the borer stops responding to it. I rotate the product groups as advised and target the small larvae when they are still feeding outside the pod. Once they bore in, sprays barely touch them. Follow the label and PHI every time.
AAkhilesh Patidar4mo ago
Scouting honestly with a count made the difference for me rather than panicking at the first caterpillar. I walk a few rows and check how many larvae are on the plants before deciding, and only act when they cross the threshold the KVK advised. A biological option on the small larvae handled the light years and I saved the spray for the heavy ones.
DDevendra Solanki3mo ago
Do not overlook the leaf feeding caterpillars early, because in my field they built up before the pods even formed and then moved onto the pods. Catching them while they are still on the leaves with a biological spray kept the later pod damage low. Combine the trap monitoring with regular field walking from flowering, that is when the trouble starts.