Mid‐season pest management implications for protecting soybean seed quality in North Carolina

Abstract Soybean producers in North Carolina have shifted from later to early‐maturing varieties (MG II‐IV) to increase yield. This shift has coincided with more frequent seed damage and purple seed stain, sometimes resulting in dockage at the elevator. Weather is a major driving factor in seed quality issues, but management strategies may play a role to minimize these seed quality issues; these have not been investigated in North Carolina. To better understand the impact of pest management on seed quality, field trials were conducted over two growing seasons (2021–2022) in three environments across North Carolina. Soybean yield, seed damage, purple seed stain, protein, and oil were collected. Moreover, non‐treated controls were scouted at R3 and R5 for each planting date and maturity group combination to determine pest dynamics at each location. While fungicide applications improved yield, pesticide applications did not significantly protect seed quality compared to the untreated control. Continuous scouting and as needed pesticide application can help producers improve soybean yield and protect seed quality.