Soybean production continues to increase to meet the world demand. In 2016, the U.S. led the world in soybean production, producing 34% of the world’s soybeans valued at $41 million (SoyStats 2018). However, native and invasive soybean insect pests continue to expand distributions and ranges and continue to adapt to management practices, threatening soybean yield and quality. In the short-term, loss of current, highly effective management tactics is increasing producer costs. In the long-term, the establishment of invasive insect pests will continue to impact soybean ecosystems, altering integrated pest management (IPM) strategies which have proven effective in the past. In the Midsouth and Southeast, corn earworm, soybean looper, and stink bugs, are the major pest issues. In the Midwest, introduction and establishment of the soybean aphid has irreversibly changed soybean production, resulting in a 130-fold increase in insecticide use and a loss plus cost of control of $2.4 to 4.9 million annually (Hanson et al. 2017). To address these concerns, coordinated research and extension delivery are necessary to understand pest biology, develop best management practices, and deliver recommendations to soybean producers.

Throughout the history of S1055 (S_TEMP1080), this multi-state project has had an excellent record of rapidly addressing the needs of stakeholders. Participants of S1055 are supported not only by state, regional, and national soybean commodity groups but by partnerships with industry and non-governmental organizations to develop the most effective soybean insect IPM research and extension activities. Native and historical pests of soybean continue to present challenges to producers. Invasive pest problems, such as soybean aphid and redbanded stink bug, have been and will continue to be, effectively addressed by this regional project. Major examples of changing soybean pest issues since the last project renewal include the continued spread and establishment of redbanded stink bug (Bundy et al. 2018), kudzu bug (Eger et al. 2018), and brown marmorated stink bug (Hamilton et al. 2018) into new soybean producing geographical areas. Additionally, soybean pests continue to develop resistance to insecticides; soybean aphid to pyrethroids (Hanson et al. 2017) and soybean looper to methoxyfenozide (Brown 2012). Along with the changing pest complexes, soybean producers are also faced with managing pests with fewer tools and technologies, and at higher risks. Producers rely more and more on insurance-based strategies due to credit availability, crop insurance premiums, uncertain commodity prices, and changing weather patterns. This shift of management tactics often results in the use of prophylactic treatments to prevent pest damage. Unnecessary insecticide use has the potential for negative effects on several levels, not the least of which is enhancing the potential for resistance.

Therefore, coordinated, area-wide research approaches that S1055 has excelled in are necessary to understand pest biology, develop and deliver management recommendations, and track their distribution to minimize impact on soybean production. This approach has the additional benefit of avoiding overlapping research among regions while maximizing collaborations. Without research-based management recommendations, millions of dollars can be lost as a result of decreased yields or seed quality, improper deployment of control recommendations, and/or increased insecticide resistance. S1055 participants have the skills, facilities, and knowledge to develop and implement effective, user-friendly IPM programs for these pests and future insect pest problems.

Advantages of Multi-State Effort
As soybean pests expand and spread across the soybean growing region, multi-state, collaborative research is necessary to discern management tactics that work under different cropping conditions and systems. These activities combine the expertise and efforts of multiple scientists leading to more timely and effective IPM solutions. With soybeans grown in 31 states and many soybean insect pests distributed across state and provincial borders, S1055 is a natural working group for addressing soybean pest problems, and it has worked synergistically for many years to benefit soybean industries in the U.S. and Canada. Multistate collaborations already exist, and many management tactics have been successfully developed, delivered and implemented including IPM programs for lepidopteran defoliators, stink bugs, and soybean aphid. Additionally, USDA-NIFA collaborators from various states also have worked and published together in this proposal.

These research efforts are supported by experienced basic and applied research and extension entomologists who work in universities and government agencies from the various soybean producing states in the U.S. and provinces in Canada. Participants maintain connections and collaborations through multi-state projects and with various state, regional, and national commodity organizations as well as well as with private industry. Through coordination of S1055, these scientists have an excellent record of developing and implementing effective IPM programs for major insect pests attacking soybean. In 2009, the S1055 multi-state project (then named S1039) received the National Excellence in Multistate Research Award from the American Public Land-Grant Universities. Based on these prior accomplishments, we feel strongly that our group is positioned to continue to deliver useful, science-based information to our stakeholders in the face of new and changing pest challenges.

Likely Impacts
This project will generate necessary data on established and invasive soybean pest densities, distributions, and biology that are critical to improve overall national soybean IPM programs. The group continues to focus on soybean aphid, stink bugs, and insecticide-resistant Lepidoptera while continuing to scout, document, and control invasive soybean pests. In general, the project will continue to prioritize maintaining a sustainable soybean IPM program where sustainability is defined as pursuing maximal profitability in the short-term without sacrificing the potential for long-term stability of the system. We will continue our focus on utilizing a combination of biological, cultural, physical, and chemical tools to regulate pest populations while minimizing environmental risks.