COLUMBIA, Mo. – University of Missouri Extension specialists will share the latest pest management research July 10 at the Crop and Pest Management Field Day, says MU Extension state weed scientist Kevin Bradley. The annual event will be at Bradford Research Farm in Columbia.

Presenters include MU Extension state crops entomologist Ivair Valmorbida, who will show how to scout and sample for pests and discuss thresholds.

Stink bug is one of the yield-robbing soybean pests that growers will see in their fields in 2025, Valmorbida says. Stink bugs damage plants with their piercing mouth parts and feed on blooms, pods and developing seeds within the pods.

Valmorbida will discuss current insect pest issues in soybeans. He will also tell how the MU Pest Monitoring Network provides early-warning text alerts to notify farmers of insects present in specific locations.

Of special interest is corn leafhopper, first found in Missouri in 2024. Corn leafhoppers carry corn stunt disease, which can lead to 100% yield loss in corn, says Valmorbida. Symptoms include deformed grain, loose kernels and short stalks. Valmorbida will discuss scouting methods for the corn leafhopper, which is small and difficult to spot. It moves quickly through fields.

Missouri’s first case was reported in Lawrence County in southwestern Missouri in August 2024. MU Extension faculty later confirmed its presence in Gentry, Knox, Boone, Pike, Lincoln, Warren, Gasconade, Osage, Morgan, Bates, Laclede, Barton and Christian counties.

There is a small fee for the event, which includes guided wagon tours through the research farm plots, lunch and refreshments. Register at muext.us/CropPestFieldDay.

For more information, contact Heather Bowden at nicholshn@missouri.edu or 573-882-4303.

MU Bradford Research Farm is 8 miles east of Columbia at 4968 Rangeline Road. Registration begins at 8 a.m.

Continuing education units will be awarded for certified crop advisers.