Late Breaking--- Fall armyworm on soybean making impressive appearance in nearby southern states!

Reports from Extension Entomologists in Tennessee and Arkansas indicate that fall armyworm (FAW) populations in soybean are building up earlier and in larger numbers than normal. In Arkansas fields are being treated for a combination of FAWs and Corn earworm (CEW). In Tennessee the populations do not appear to be as widespread but some fields were in need of treatment. We can have this combination of insects in Kentucky soybeans. It is unusual, but it does occasionally happen. Likely places to check are late planted beans and fields in which the canopy has never closed. Historically, when this problem has occurred it is usually found in the Purchase area and the southern tier of counties in the Pennyrile area. No problems have yet been reported in Kentucky. Nevertheless, producers, consultants and scouts should be scouting regularly for these pests. They are in Kentucky; that is not the question. The question remains as always; are populations large enough to warrant a control?
See Kentucky Pest News at: http://www.uky.edu/Ag/kpn/kpnhome.htm for more detail on late season soybean insect pests.