I’ve had the first report of a soybean field in Tennessee being treated for kudzu bug.  The field is located in East Tennessee (Polk County).

The threshold recommendation below is quoted directly from a website dedicated solely to this pest (www.kudzubug.org).  There is a lot of good information on this site.  My counterparts in the Southeast have been working with this pest at a fevered pace for the past three seasons and generating a lot of good data.  I would discourage any panic spraying.  Kudzu bug infestations on soybean will almost certainly be isolated to a few fields in a very limited area.  I do not expect problems in the larger soybean growing areas found in Middle and West Tennessee during 2012.

Threshold:  “Kudzu bugs can be scouted using a 15-inch diameter sweep net. Kudzu bug populations can be extremely high, especially on field edges. We are suggesting a threshold of one immature kudzu bug per sweep. This suggested threshold is based on 2011 field trials where a single properly timed insecticide application preserved soybean yield. In the majority of trials we have conducted, nymphs usually appear at about the R-2 to R-3 growth stage. If adult numbers are extremely high (multiple adults per sweep) and soybeans are stressed, treatment should be considered; this is a judgment call but the idea is to avoid bug induced stress on soybeans that are also stressed for some other reason.”

Insecticide Selection:  There is a limited list of insecticide that are well tested and specifically list kudzu bug on the label.  Of these, Brigade 2E (bifenthrin), Hero (a premix including bifenthrin) and Endigo (a premix) appear to provide the best control.  Some other pyrethroids such as Mustang Max, Declare and Karate appear to perform pretty well in limited testing, although Karate does not specifically list kudzu bugs on the label.  Sevin, Orthene and Dimethoate also appear to perform reasonably well.  These products should be used at or near the full labeled rate.

After looking at the data and talking with my counterparts, Brigade 2E or one of the other bifenthrin products at a rate of 6.0-6.4 oz/acre appears to be an obvious choice.  It appears to provide the best bang for the buck.  Not all insecticides will provide adequate control.  The data I’ve seen suggests that Asana XL, Baythroid XL, Belay, Leverage 360, Lorsban are not good enough.