Soybean aphids found in VW county field

DAVE MOSIER/independent editor

Signs of the soybean aphid have been found in Van Wert County and that’s not good news for county soybean producers.

Ohio State University Extension Agriculture Educator Curtis Young said he found aphids in local soybean fields recently while taking samples for Thursday’s Extension open house at the Niswonger Performing Arts Center of Northwest Ohio.

“One of the soybean fields that I visited had a more than an unacceptable population of soybean aphids already built up,” Young said. “At this point, that would be a warning to all of our producers in the county that they need to start really looking at their soybean fields to determine whether the soybean aphid is present, and how much might be present if they do find it.”

Young said checking for aphids now is “really critical” for soybean producers.

The aphids tend to build up more heavily on late-planted fields, and most county soybean fields fit into that category this year because of the many days of rain that occurred during the planting season.

Soybean aphids damage crops by sucking soybean plant sap, resulting in plants that are shorter, have fewer pods, smaller and lower quality seeds and produce smaller yields.

Symptoms of feeding damage may include stunted plants, leaves covered with “honey dew” (a sticky substance secreted by aphids) and black, sooty mold on honey dew-coated leaves.

The aphids can also transmit soybean viruses such as soybean mosaic virus and alfalfa mosaic virus.

Soybean aphids are small (1/16 of an inch), pear-shaped bright green to yellow insects with dark tips on the cornicles — two tube-like structures or “tailpipes” on the tip of the abdomen (see photo above). Soybean aphids may have wings or be wingless, or a combination of both during summer.

Winged soybean aphids have a black head and thorax, with a green/yellow abdomen.