European Corn Production Faces Powerful Beetle
July 25, 2008| |
One of the world's most dangerous pests to corn is a tiny insect known as the Western corn rootworm (Diabrotica virgifera). It is now spreading across Europe and could soon be responsible for yield losses of up to 80 percent. Permanent populations of the corn pest have become established in Austria, Switzerland and France and the pest has already emerged in the southern states of Germany.
The problem with the corn rootworm is that it has no direct natural enemies in Europe. One theoretical alternative means of control is crop rotation. This approach cannot guarantee long-term success, however. The pathogen has developed numerous resistances to this measure, including one-year egg dormancy. Longest-lasting control is achieved with crop protection agents. Effective insecticides can either be sprayed onto the leaves of the corn plant or delivered with spot precision and high effectiveness into the soil through seed dressing. Use of dressed seeds is probably the most ecofriendly way of using crop protection agents.
To read more about the Western corn rootworm, visit http://www.bayercropscience.com/BCSWeb/CropProtection.nsf/id/EN_2008-NST-033.
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