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Spider mite threat escalates in soybeans

The spider mite threat to soybeans in Missouri has escalated. University of Missouri Entomologist Wayne Bailey told Certified Crop Advisors at the M-U Bradford research center that anyone with soybean fields hit by drought should be scouting for two-spot spider mites every single day.

Because they are so tiny, he says, you have to look at the underside of the plant’s leaves. Another way is to put a sheet of white paper under a leaf and tap on the top – if any yellow specks fall onto the paper, you have spider mites.

When spraying, he says, use plenty of water, applying 15 gallons of spray per acre. Aerial applicators can get by with less.

Spider mites prefer drought conditions and do their work of sucking juice out of soybean plant leaves in the heat of the day.

Bailey tells Brownfield that during most years predator mites will knock those pests down but the dry weather has killed a lot of natural predators.

Lots of spraying is going on in northern Missouri but he expects spider mites to become a problem across the state. A good rain, Bailey says, will solve the spider mite problem in soybeans.

Winds blowing in unusual pests