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Student 10-Minute Presentation Competition

Plant-Insect Ecosystems

Student Competition

Student

Grad 10-min Competition: P-IE, Field Crops 1

Evaluating the impact and interactions of soybean gall midge, dectes stem borer, and plant diseases in soybean

Monday, November 10, 2025

8:24 AM - 8:36 AM Pacific

Location: Oregon Convention Center, D139-140, OCC

Presenting Author(s)

TR

Thales Rodrigues da Silva

Graduate Research Assistant
University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Lincoln, Nebraska

Co-Author(s)

DM

Dylan Mangel

Assistant Professor
Department of Plant Pathology, University of Nebraska - Lincoln
Linocoln, Nebraska
RL

Ritika Lamichhane

Assistant Extension Educator
University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Auburn, Nebraska
JN

John Nelson

Water and Cropping Systems Extension Educator
University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Lincoln, Nebraska
TP

Travis Prochaska

Water and Cropping Systems Extension Educator
University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Schuyler, Nebraska
MP

Matheus Pires de Mello Ribeiro

Water and Cropping Systems Extension Educator
University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Wilber, Nebraska
AN

Aaron Nygren

Extension Educator, Lead Educator
University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Ithaca, Nebraska
Wayne Ohnesorg

Extension Educator, Entomologist
University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Norfolk, Nebraska
RS

Ron Seymour

Extension Educator, Lead Educator
University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Hastings, Nebraska
Anthony Justin McMechan

Associate Professor, Crop Protection and Cropping Systems Specialist
University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Lincoln, Nebraska

Since its identification in 2019, soybean gall midge (Resseliella maxima) has become an economically important soybean pest in the midwestern United States, with larval feeding typically restricted to the plant base. However, in 2023, R. maxima larvae were also found in the upper canopy, associated with oviposition wounds caused by Dectes stem borer (Dectes texanus), suggesting potential behavioral shifts and increased damage. This co-infestation raises concerns about enhanced insect pressure and the potential associations with plant diseases. To investigate these interactions, field studies were conducted at multiple sites in south-central and eastern Nebraska using a combination of unconventional management tactics: hilling to disrupt R. maxima infestation, fipronil seed treatments targeting D. texanus larvae, and fungicide applications to reduce disease incidence. Larval abundance, plant injury, and disease symptoms were monitored throughout the season, and yield components were evaluated at harvest. These findings highlight the potential need to consider interactions between insects or with pathogens in soybean to develop an integrated management strategy.