Knowing how to manage and “speed scout” soybean aphids just got easier, thanks to two new pocket-sized publications authored by Iowa State University Extension entomologists Marlin Rice and Matt O’Neal.

The companion soybean aphid publications have just been released and are available from ISU Extension. One is a spiral-bound Soybean Aphid Management Field Guide for 2008, Extension publication number CSI 11. The 43-page pocket guide is focused on management of soybean aphid in Iowa. The guide is a handy reference to the history, identification, development and management strategies for this relatively new insect pest for Iowa.

The second publication, Speed Scouting Soybean Aphids, CSI 15, is a double-sided card useful for field-by-field evaluation of soybean aphid populations. It uses the speed scouting technique that was recently developed by entomologists at the University of Minnesota.

Arrival of the new publications coincides with the first reports of aphid infestations in Iowa this summer. Populations reaching the recommended treatement level of 250 aphids per plant have been reported in northern Iowa, according to Rich Pope, ISU Extension program specialist and plant pathologist.

Supplies of these references, as well as the publication Soybean Disease and Pest Management Field Guide (CSI 10), are available free from the Iowa State University Extension Distribution Center or at local county ISU Extension offices.

Look for the following: CSI 10 Soybean Disease and Pest Management Field Guide; CSI 11 Soybean Aphid Management Field Guide; and CSI 15 Speed Scouting Soybean Aphids. All three publications were produced and made available for free distribution with funding provided by the Iowa Soybean Association.