Entomology, Department of
Date of this Version
2018
Abstract
The objective of this field trial was to evaluate the efficacy of a single application of foliar insecticides at preventing feeding damage by the western bean cutworm (WBC), an important pest of corn and dry beans. Direct feeding by WBC larvae on developing kernels in the ear can result in yield loss, whereas WBC infestation can also lead to secondary fungal infections. WBC has undergone a rapid range expansion into the eastern Corn Belt within the last 16 yr. This study was conducted within the historic range of WBC, at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln’s Henry J. Stumpf International Wheat Center in Perkins County, NE (40.856772° N, −101.701281° W). An RCB design with 14 treatments (including an untreated check) and 4 replications was used. Each plot was 20 × 35 ft and consisted of eight rows. The trial was planted on 12 May 2017 using a commercial 8-row planter at 32,000 seeds/acre at an approximate depth of 1.40–1.75 inches in 30-inch rows. The seeds planted were DKC62-95 (Monsanto Company, St. Louis, MO), a non-Bt hybrid with RR2 herbicide tolerance. Irrigation, fertilization, and weed management inputs in plots followed standard agronomic practices for the region, with no insecticide applications other than the experimental treatments.
Comments
Arthropod Management Tests (2018), 2pp
doi: 10.1093/amt/tsy095