Prevalence of Sporadic Insect Pests of Seedling Corn and Factors Affecting Risk of Infestation

Abstract

A preventative insecticide treatment is a tactic compatible with an integrated pest management (IPM) strategy for a particular pest only when a rescue treatment is not a realistic option, and if there is a reasonable expectation of economic damage by that pest. Most corn, Zea mays L., planted in the United States is protected from several sporadic early-season insect pests by neonicotinoid seed treatments, usually without the knowledge of the threat posed in a given field. We undertook an extensive literature review of these sporadic pests to clarify the prevalence of economic infestations in different regions of the United States, and the agronomic, biotic, and abiotic factors that affect the likelihood of attack. The summaries of the prevalence and risk factors presented here should help farmers and consultants better assess the value of preventative protection of seedling corn under local conditions, and provide others with a better understanding of the complexities farmers face in assessing risks posed by potential pests. The profiles suggest that, in general, pressure from most sporadic pests on seedling corn is rare or local, seldom high enough to decrease yield. However, this is not true in all regions for all sporadic pests. An important issue exposed by the profiles is that the value of preventative insecticide protection of seedling corn depends on understanding the likely combined pressure from multiple species. While such risk may often still be negligible, there is a great need for robust methodology to assess the risk posed by multiple pests. This represents a significant challenge for future research.

Ecological impacts of pesticide seed treatments on arthropod communities in a grain crop rotation

“…This is typical for Maryland; although NSTs suppressed thrips (Thripidae) and leafhoppers (Cicadellidae) in soybean, and aphids (Aphididae) in early season wheat, these pests were not present at economically damaging levels. Indeed, many of the pests for which NSTs are labelled are considered sporadic pests that most growers do not typically scout for or actively manage; for some of these pests, effective alternative management strategies such as early planting and crop rotation exist (Hesler, Sappington, Luttrell, Allen, & Papiernik, 2018; Papiernik et al, 2018; Sappington, Hesler, Clint Allen, Luttrell, & Papiernik, 2018). However, soil pests such as wireworms (Elateridae) and white grubs (Scarabeidae), can require NST applications because they have multi‐year life cycles and their damage cannot be mitigated with rescue treatments.…”

The value of insect management to US maize, soybean and cotton farmers

“…The actively managed pests in Table 1 include several early season, below-ground and/or erratically present pests that are difficult to scout and for which rescue treatments are generally not available, so that the uncertainty in losses from these pests is substantial. 4,[43][44][45] Not surprisingly, more than three-quarters of farmers using seed treatments wanted to continue to use them, even if the same varieties were available without seed treatments. Also, the rankings of farmer concerns when making pest management decisions in Table 3 show a strong interest in family and worker safety, as well as concern for protecting water quality and beneficial insects, and for public safety, not just concern for yield and cost.…”

Applications of Biotechnology for Characterization of Plants and Pests as the Key Components of Plant Protection and Production Strategies: A Review

“…Accordingly, biotechnology can help address issues of CC adaptation and mitigation strategies as related to pest management (Tesfahun, 2018). (Tsiamis et al, 2014), Pathovar of Plant Pathogen (Tian et al, 2016b); genetic diversity of bacteria (Shishir et al, 2015), host specificity of fungi (Borah et al, 2018) Biotypes of aphids (Wenger and Michel, 2013), Genetic diversity and variation orobanche (Pineda-Martos et al, 2014), Mikania (Geng et al, 2017); Acacia (Vicente 2018), Striga (Unachukwu et al, 2017) Mechanism of transmission of pests to plants: (Virulence/avirulence,, pathogenicity, aggressiveness, Life-cycle, prevalence, Weediness and invasiveness; latency and dormancy) Molecular mechanisms of pathogenicity (van Baarlen et al, 2007; Discover prevalence by early detection (Parnell et al, 2015) Virulence and avirulence of aphids (Kanvil et al, 2015); Prevalence of Sporadic Insect Pests (Sappington et al, 2018); Long distance dispersal of insects (Kim and Sappington, 2013) Evolution of weediness and Invasiveness (Stewart et al, 2009; understanding invasiveness through the genes (Broz et al, 2007;Guo et al, 2017a); Seed dormancy mechanisms (Finch-Savage and Footitt, 2017) Host Plant-pest interaction Mechanism of interaction (Chisholm, at al., 2006;Arie et al, 2007;Salvaudon et al, 2008;Doughari 2015;Wille et al, 2019); Post genomic era application (Imam et al, 2016), microbes interaction with invasive weeds (Coats and Rumpho, 2014), plant microbiota (Li et al, 2018) Host and Parasitoi...…”