Western Corn Rootworm (Diabrotica virgifera virgifera LeConte) in Europe: Current Status and Sustainable Pest Management

Abstract

Western corn rootworm (WCR), or Diabrotica virgifera virgifera LeConte, became a very serious quarantine maize pest in Europe in the mid-1990s. Between 1995 and 2010, European countries were involved in international projects to share information and plan common research for integrated pest management (IPM) implementation. Since 2011, however, common efforts have declined, and an overview of WCR population spread, density, and research is in serious need of update. Therefore, we retained that it was necessary to (1) summarize the research activities carried out in the last 12 years in various countries and the research topics addressed, and analyze how these activities have contributed to IPM for WCR and (2) present the current distribution of WCR in the EU and analyze the current population levels in different European countries, focusing on different management strategies. A review of scientific papers published from 2008 to 2020, in addition to direct interviews with experts in charge of WCR management in a range of European countries, was conducted. Over the past 12 years, scientists in Europe have continued their research activities to investigate various aspects of WCR management by implementing several approaches to WCR control. A considerable amount of new knowledge has been produced, contributing to the development of pest management strategies applicable in EU farming systems. Among the 10 EU countries analyzed, there is no country reporting economic damage on a large scale. Thanks to intensive research leading to specific agricultural practices and the EU Common Agricultural Policy, there are crop-rotation-based solutions that can adequately control this pest avoiding insecticide use.

Ecology and Evolutionary History of Diabrotica Beetles—Overview and Update

“…In the 1990s, this species was accidentally brought to Serbia, in Eastern Europe, where it quickly spread over large parts of eastern and central Europe and became a threat to the corn-growing regions foremost in Hungary and Germany [12][13][14][15][16]. Nevertheless, in those newly invaded regions, cultivating corn in a two-or three-year rotation with non-monocotyledon crops made it possible to maintain the populations of D. v. virgifera below economic threshold level [17,18]. D. v. virgifera is found in most European countries and was eradicated in Belgium, Netherlands, and United Kingdom [19], whereas in France and Germany, for example, populations are maintained below levels of economic damage due to intensive monitoring efforts and corn rotation strategies with particular regulations for each susceptible region and country [18].…”

On understanding and manipulating the hatching patterns of Diabrotica virgifera virgifera eggs to improve the design of experiments

“…On both continents, it is causing billions USD or EUR of annual pest management costs (Rice, 2004;Wesseler & Fall, 2010). However, due to those investments, the pest is relatively well managed and largescale crop losses are relatively rare (Ba zok et al, 2021).…”

Pollen Feeding Reduces Predation of Northern Corn Rootworm Eggs (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae, Diabrotica barberi) by a Soil-Dwelling Mite (Acari: Laelapidae: Stratiolaelaps scimitus)

“…In Europe, adult WCR feed on sunflower [35,93] and it has been suggested their host plant range is broader than in the U.S. [35]. Although WCR are considered a sunflower pest in some locations in Europe [94], severe widespread damage has not been reported, even in corn [95]. In the midwestern U.S., WCR appears to have a greater association with corn [32,49,96], although Campbell and Meinke [36] observed both NCR and WCR on Helianthus.…”