Soybean RAC: harnessing collaborations to improve prediction of cercospora diseases -- to develop, refine, and validate integrated prediction tools for soybean diseases and insect pests to improve the…

Soybean RAC: harnessing collaborations to improve prediction of cercospora diseases -- to develop, refine, and validate integrated prediction tools for soybean diseases and insect pests to improve the timing, efficacy, and sustainability of management decisions. The specific objectives of the soybean RAC are to: (1) quantify relationships among inoculum or pest abundance, environmental conditions, and disease or insect injury across soybean production environments; (2) develop and validate models that predict overwintering survival and early-season risk of economically important soybean insect pests in northern states; (3) evaluate the use of aerial imagery (drone- and satellite-based) to support pest risk identification, data collection, and validation of predictive models; and (4) disseminate integrated soybean pest risk information and best management practices to stakeholders through extension programming and the crop protection network (CPN).