Risk of Western Corn Rootworm (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae) Damage to Continuous Corn in Virginia

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.

1993 ◽  
Vol 28 (1) ◽  
pp. 136-141 ◽  
Author(s):  
Roger R. Youngman ◽  
Eric R. Day

The discovery of western corn rootworm beetles, Diabrotica virgifera virgifera LeConte, in a southwest Virginia corn field in 1985 prompted annual surveys of corn fields in an average of 28 counties across the state from 1987 to 1992. All counties included in the annual surveys were representative of the major corn-growing regions of Virginia. Survey results indicated that western corn rootworm beetles spread rapidly throughout most of the western and central continuous corn-growing regions of the state. In the eastern and southeastern corn-growing regions of the state, where crop rotation is widely practiced, detections of western corn rootworm beetles were less common and typically involved only one to two counties per year from 1987 to 1992.


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.


2012 ◽  
Vol 27 (3) ◽  
pp. 189-201 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ivan Sivcev ◽  
Petar Kljajic ◽  
Miroslav Kostic ◽  
Lazar Sivcev ◽  
Sladjan Stankovic

Western corn rootworm (WCR) was registered for the first time in Europe near the Surcin international airport in Serbia in 1992. The spread of WCR on the territory of Serbia and its population density increased fast. The Serbian territory was entirely populated in the following few years, while major damages occurred on corn grown for two or more years in the same field. Data on damages caused to over 140,000 ha under corn until 1999 were collected by organized monitoring. After 2000 and 2003, population abundance of D.v. virgifera, as well as the number of damaged corn fields, significantly decreased due to drought and application of crop rotation. Corn rootworm has one generation per year. It overwinters in the egg stage. Under the climatic conditions of Serbia larvae hatching starts around May 15th. The highest number of larvae on root is observed around June 20th when feeding is most intensive and plants become lodged as they lose roots. First adults emerge by the end of June. Their abundance increases during July and reaches maximum by the end of the month. From the second decade of August the abundance decreases. Adults are present in the field until the first frosts. Larvae are much more harmful and significant than adults. Larvae feed on roots or into roots by boring. Roots can be entirely destroyed under heavy attack and the host plants lodged already at the end of June. Under our climatic and agrotechnical conditions, adults are sporadic pests. Adults are a threat only when sowing is done after the optimal sowing date or in case of stubble corn sowing. Crop rotation is an efficient and most widespread means of WCR control. No damage on corn grown in crop rotation has been registered in Serbia for now. In the first year of production corn does not require protection from Diabrotica virgifera virgifera LeConte larvae. Several insecticides have performed high efficacy by application at sowing and have been registered for commercial use. On the other hand, soil insecticides have never been applied on a significant area in Serbia.


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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