Submitted to: Entomological Society of America Annual Meeting
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: June 16, 2005
Publication Date: November 7, 2005
Citation: French, B.W., Chandler, L.D., Janus, A.T., Beck, D.A., Hartman, D.A. 2005. Using semiochemical-baits to suppress adult corn rootworm populations in the South Dakota areawide management site. Entomological Society of America Annual Meeting, Ft. Lauderdale, FL. December 15-18, 2005. Technical Abstract: The Corn Rootworm Areawide Management Program was conducted from 1997 – 2001 in five states. The site in Brookings County, SD was organized into an areawide unit encompassing 41.4 km2. This area contained both northern and western corn rootworms, which are serious pests of corn in the U.S. Corn Belt. Traditional control methods include crop rotation and soil insecticides applied at planting. However, insect adaptations along with environmental, safety, and economic concerns prompted the areawide management program. A broad-scale IPM approach was used to suppress adult populations by aerially spraying fields with semiochemical baited insecticides when numbers captured in Pherocon AM yellow sticky traps reached a set threshold. For analysis, fields were broken down into spray weeks comprised of fields sprayed during the same week. This approach allowed us to isolate those fields sprayed during the same week so that an estimate of the effectiveness of semiochemical-baits to suppress adult populations could be determined. Fields were then compared to control fields that were managed with soil insecticides for corn rootworm control. We show that populations of corn rootworms decreased significantly after being sprayed, but in rare instances a second treatment was necessary. Managing corn rootworms with aerially applied semiochemical insecticides appears to effectively suppress adult populations of corn rootworms.