scholarly journals Maize hybrid and nutrient specific evaluation of the population dynamics and damage of the western corn rootworm (Diabrotica Virgifera Virgifera LeConte) in a long-term field experiment

Author(s):  
Árpád Illés ◽  
Csaba Bojtor ◽  
Seyed Mohammad Nasir Mousavi ◽  
L. Csaba Marton ◽  
Péter Ragán ◽  
...  

AbstractAgricultural production is threatened by different invasive species, as their damage results in a serious loss of income. The aim of the research was the assessment of the swarming dynamics and damage of the western corn rootworm (WCR) adults and larvae. The experiment was carried out in monoculture fertilization long-term experiments and three maize hybrids compared for their reaction against WCR adult and larval damage under non-infested plots at different nitrogen levels. Differences among the hybrids have a lower effect on the damage of corn rootworm adults and larvae than the amount of applied nitrogen. The phosphorus-potassium are optimal levels, while nitrogen ranges from 0 to 300 kg and no nutrient supply took place in the control plots for 30 years. The number of adults located and feeding on the styles of the female flower recorded and the damage caused on the roots by larvae ranked on a modified Iowa scale. Nitrogen fertilization resulted in a change in the silking time. The lowest root damage observed in the case of the high nutrient treatment with an Iowa value of 3.18. The coincidence of the nourishment of adults and the egg-laying time with silking is a potential threat in terms of fertility. Based on the results, it found that the extent of root damage can be reduced through the optimal selection of the time and dose of nutrient supply, primarily that of nitrogen. In general, both larvae and adults can cause severe yield loss, but the method of control against them is different. The coincidence of the nourishment of adults and the egg-laying time with silking is a potential threat in terms of fertility.

Author(s):  
Joseph L Spencer ◽  
Timothy R Mabry ◽  
Eli Levine ◽  
Scott A Isard

Abstract Western corn rootworm, Diabrotica virgifera virgifera LeConte, biology is tied to the continuous availability of its host (corn, Zea mays L.). Annual rotation of corn with a nonhost, like soybean (Glycine max (L.) Merrill) was a reliable tactic to manage western corn rootworm. Behavioral resistance to annual crop rotation (rotation resistance) allowed some eastern U.S. Corn Belt populations to circumvent rotation by laying eggs in soybean and in cornfields. When active in soybean, rotation-resistant adults commonly consume foliage, in spite of detrimental effects on beetle survival. Rotation-resistant beetle activity in soybean is enabled by the expression of certain proteinases and an adapted gut microbiota that provide limited protection from soybean antiherbivore defenses. We investigated the effects of corn and soybean herbivory on rotation-resistant female survival and initiation of flight using mortality assays and wind tunnel flight tests. Among field-collected females tested with mortality assays, beetles from collection sites in a cornfield survived longer than those from collection sites in a soybean field. However, reduced survival due to soybean herbivory could be restored by consuming corn tissues. Field-collected beetles that fed on a soybean tissue laboratory diet or only water were more likely to fly in a wind tunnel than corn-feeding beetles. Regardless of collection site and laboratory diet, 90.5% of beetles that flew oriented their flights upwind. Diet-related changes in the probability of flight provide a proximate mechanism for interfield movement that facilitates restorative feeding and the survival of females previously engaged in soybean herbivory. Rotation-resistant western corn rootworm females feeding on soybean tissues experience reduced survival in mortality assays and display increased flight probability (which may facilitate flight back to a cornfield where consumption of host tissues improves survival potential and facilitates maturation of eggs). The consequences of soybean herbivory provide a proximal mechanism for behavioral resistance to crop rotation. Increased egg-laying probability while feeding on soybean tissues, facilitation of egg maturation while feeding on corn tissues, and interfield movement are previously documented consequences.


2005 ◽  
Vol 85 (4) ◽  
pp. 949-954 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. C. Knight ◽  
K. P. Pauls ◽  
M. K. Sears ◽  
A. W. Schaafsma

Western corn rootworm (WCR), Diabrotica virgifera virgifera L., is the most serious insect pest of corn, Zea mays L., in North America. Crop rotation had successfully controlled this pest until the late 1980s when a new biotype that lays its eggs in non-corn crops was discovered in Illinois. This biotype has spread to parts of Indiana, Michigan, and Ohio, and threatens Ontario. By using emergence cages, Pherocon Am® sticky traps and corn root ratings, egg-laying behaviour of WCR in Ontario was assessed in strip crop settings that represent typical cropping systems of southern Ontario. WCR adults were active in both soybean and winter wheat fields in July and August. Larval feeding and adult emergence in first-year corn fields following soybean and wheat were similar, confirming that oviposition did occur in both crops. These data do not, however, provide conclusive evidence for the presence of the rotation resistant WCR in Ontario because previous studies have demonstrated that WCR are capable of utilizing other crops for oviposition. Key words: Western corn rootworm, Diabrotica virgifera virgifera, strip plots, corn, soybean, wheat (winter)


2019 ◽  
Vol 112 (5) ◽  
pp. 2324-2334 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ram B Shrestha ◽  
Aaron J Gassmann

Abstract Western corn rootworm, Diabrotica virgifera virgifera LeConte (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae), has developed resistance to transgenic corn that produces the insecticidal toxin Cry3Bb1 derived from the bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis (Bacillales: Bacillaceae) (Bt), with cross-resistance extending to corn with Bt toxins mCry3A and eCry3.1Ab. Additionally, some populations of western corn rootworm have evolved resistance to Cry34/35Ab1 corn. We conducted a 2-yr field and laboratory study that included three field locations: 1) Bt-susceptible population, 2) field with a recent history of Cry3Bb1 resistance, and 3) field with a long-term history of Cry3Bb1 resistance. The population with recently evolved Cry3Bb1 resistance showed resistance to Cry3Bb1 corn in both laboratory bioassays and field evaluations; by contrast, the population with a long-term history of Cry3Bb1 resistance showed resistance, in both laboratory and field experiments to Cry3Bb1 corn and corn with a pyramid of mCry3A plus eCry3.1Ab corn. Field-based evaluations also showed that the field population with a long-term history of Cry3Bb1 resistance imposed higher root injury to Cry3Bb1 corn and the pyramid of mCry3A plus eCry3.1Ab compared with the susceptible control. The results of this study are discussed in the context of developing strategies to manage western corn rootworm in areas where populations have evolved resistance to Cry3Bb1 corn.


1997 ◽  
Vol 32 (3) ◽  
pp. 281-289 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas P. Kuhar ◽  
Roger R. Youngman ◽  
Curtis A. Laub

Information on the risk of western corn rootworm, Diabrotica virgifera virgifera LeConte, damage to continuously-grown corn previously was lacking in Virginia, as well as other mid-Atlantic states. A field study was conducted in 1993 and 1994 comparing root damage, whole-plant yields, and silage quality in insecticide-treated and untreated sections of 32 continuous corn fields in Virginia. Approximately 28% of the fields had serious root damage exceeding a rating of 3.5 (1–6 scale) in sections not treated with a soil insecticide. Also, 19% of the fields had an economic loss in whole-plant yield due to corn rootworm feeding damage. Silage quality, as evidenced by percent crude protein and acid detergent fiber, was not significantly affected by corn rootworm feeding. Because much of the continuous corn acreage in Virginia is treated preventively with soil insecticides for corn rootworms, the results of this study suggest that a large percentage of this insecticide use is unnecessary.


Insects ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 136
Author(s):  
Aaron Gassmann

The western corn rootworm, Diabrotica virgifera virgifera LeConte, is among the most serious pests of maize in the United States. Since 2003, transgenic maize that produces insecticidal toxins from the bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) has been used to manage western corn rootworm by killing rootworm larvae, which feed on maize roots. In 2009, the first cases of field-evolved resistance to Bt maize were documented. These cases occurred in Iowa and involved maize that produced Bt toxin Cry3Bb1. Since then, resistance has expanded to include other geographies and additional Bt toxins, with some rootworm populations displaying resistance to all commercially available Bt traits. Factors that contributed to field-evolved resistance likely included non-recessive inheritance of resistance, minimal fitness costs of resistance and limited adult dispersal. Additionally, because maize is the primary agricultural crop on which rootworm larvae can survive, continuous maize cultivation, in particular continuous cultivation of Bt maize, appears to be another key factor facilitating resistance evolution. More diversified management of rootworm larvae, including rotating fields out of maize production and using soil-applied insecticide with non-Bt maize, in addition to planting refuges of non-Bt maize, should help to delay the evolution of resistance to current and future transgenic traits.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zixiao Zhao ◽  
Christine G. Elsik ◽  
Bruce E. Hibbard ◽  
Kent S. Shelby

AbstractBackgroundAlternative splicing is one of the major mechanisms that increases transcriptome diversity in eukaryotes, including insect species that have gained resistance to pesticides and Bt toxins. In western corn rootworm (Diabrotica virgifera virgifera LeConte), neither alternative splicing nor its role in resistance to Bt toxins has been studied.ResultsTo investigate the mechanisms of Bt resistance we carried out single-molecule real-time (SMRT) transcript sequencing and Iso-seq analysis on resistant, eCry3.1Ab-selected and susceptible, unselected, western corn rootworm neonate midguts which fed on seedling maize with and without eCry3.1Ab for 12 and 24 hours. We present transcriptome-wide alternative splicing patterns of western corn rootworm midgut in response to feeding on eCry3.1Ab-expressing corn using a comprehensive approach that combines both RNA-seq and SMRT transcript sequencing techniques. We found that 67.73% of multi-exon genes are alternatively spliced, which is consistent with the high transposable element content of the genome. One of the alternative splicing events we identified was a novel peritrophic matrix protein with two alternative splicing isoforms. Analysis of differential exon usage between resistant and susceptible colonies showed that in eCry3.1Ab-resistant western corn rootworm, expression of one isoform was significantly higher than in the susceptible colony, while no significant differences between colonies were observed with the other isoform.ConclusionOur results provide the first survey of alternative splicing in western corn rootworm and suggest that the observed alternatively spliced isoforms of peritrophic matrix protein may be associated with eCry3.1Ab resistance in western corn rootworm.


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