A Survey of Indiana Soybean Producers Following the Introduction of a New Invasive Pest, the Soybean Aphid

In 2000, the soybean aphid, Aphis glycines Matsumura, invaded North American soybean production and quickly spread to 22 U.S. states and 3 Canadian provinces (Ragsdale et al. 2004). Since its introduction, periodic outbreaks of the soybean aphid have occurred, the most recent in 2005. During outbreaks, millions of acres of soybeans have been treated with insecticides (mostly in the Midwest), and tens of millions of dollars in lost yield have been reported (DiFonzo and Hines 2002, Landis et al. 2003). The soybean aphid has become the most devastating insect pest of soybeans in the United States. The aphid challenges soybean insect management and has stimulated research on its ecology and management (Heimpel et al. 2004, Hill et al. 2004, Ragsdale et al. 2004, Rutledge et al. 2004, Venette and Ragsdale 2004, Voegtlin et al. 2005). An undocumented area is what farmers know about the soybean aphid, and how their experience with it has influenced their management approach. We surveyed soybean farmers in Indiana to assess their knowledge and practices related to soybean aphid ecology and management. We took advantage of the relative densities of soybean aphid in the state to investigate how farmers’ experience with the aphid affected their survey responses. Our goal was to provide baseline information on farmers’ understanding of soybean aphid biology and management so as to better inform soybean aphid management programs.