An increasing cultural practice in soybean, Glycine max (L.), production is the use of winter annual cover crops before planting. Species of grasses, legumes, and forbs are planted for many agronomic purposes during the fall months. In the spring, cover crops are killed and soybean planted into the residue. When the termination of the cover crops is delayed for longer lasting benefits, insect pest issues can arise. The movement of insect pests from cover crops to subsequent cash crops happens through a connection known as the “Green Bridge”. Pests found in cover crops such as the pea leaf weevil, Sitona lineatus L. (Coleoptera: Curculionidae), can be particularly damaging to immature soybean plants. Experiments were conducted to tests how cover crops influence insect populations in soybean. Also, various chemical control options, soybean planting populations, and the timing of cover crop termination prior to planting were tested in these cover crop-soybean systems. Lastly, an experiment was conducted to measure how various species of cover crops and neonicotinoid seed treatments affect arthropod diversity in soybean fields.

Experiments were conducted to determine the effects of cultural practices such as irrigation, planting date, and maturity group on soybean nectar production. Multiple interactions between different factors influences the amount of total sugar present in soybean flowers. Pod production was increased in later planted soybean, but later planting resulted in reduction in yield. Another study was conducted to explore the effects that variety selection had on soybean nectar production. Soybean nectar production was highly variable among varieties and was influenced further depending on their growing location. Later maturing varieties produced significantly more soybean pods. This increase in pod production was not reflected in yield, as the later maturing varieties usually yielded less.

Sequences of 33 Bean pod mottle virus (BPMV) isolates collected from Mississippi were obtained from four regions of the viral genome. Sequences were compared mutually and to subgroups I and II type isolates. Mississippi isolates collected have greater similarity to subgroup II. Helicase sequences obtained from Mississippi isolates showed characteristics of isolates producing mild or moderate symptoms. Biological comparison of isolates from Mississippi confirmed predictions from molecular data. Plant species were tested for susceptibility to BPMV. Seven of 52 species tested positive. Desmodium perplexum was infected by beetle feeding and served as an inoculum source for transmission of BPMV to soybeans. Beetle species collected from soybean and clover were tested to determine if they serve as BPMV vectors. Of eight species tested, Hypera postica transmitted BPMV to 1 of 14 test plants. Beetle overwintering transmission of BPMV was tested, but of 187 beetles collected, none transmitted the virus.

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