Western Corn Rootworm in Europe: Integrated Pest Management Is The Only Sustainable Solution is the second guide in the From Science to Field series from ENDURE’s Maize Case Study team and has been written by researchers from the Plant Protection Institute at Szent István University.

Researchers at the university recently coordinated a participatory Integrated Pest Management (IPM) development programme designed to provide farmers with alternative ways of dealing with the pest in Central and Eastern Europe and thus have wide experience in tackling WCR (Diabrotica virgifera virgifera ).

The leaflet examines the morphology and lifecycle of WCR, which is a member of the leaf beetle family producing one generation per year and overwintering in the egg stage in the soil of maize fields.

Root damage caused by WCR larvae. Copyright: Nora Levay, SZIU PPI, Hungary.

The leaflet explains how both larvae and adults can cause economic damage to maize crops. Larval feeding can cause significant damage to maize root systems, leading to plant lodging, while adults cause damage when feeding in the silks before and during pollination.

Researchers conclude that the best and safest way to manage WCR larvae is through crop rotation, regardless of geographic and climatic differences of the degree of pest pressure. They caution that where socio-economic factors make crop rotation impossible, insecticides should be applied only after an accurate risk estimation has been conducted.

The leaflet also investigates other non-chemical options; including cultural practices designed to enhance maize plant development, hybrid selection, the use of natural enemies and biological controls, and transgenic maize hybrids.

• You can download Western Corn Rootworm in Europe: Integrated Pest Management Is The Only Sustainable Solution here:
  Maize Case Study Guide Number 2 [pdf - 620,64 kB]
• The first leaflet from the Maize Case Study team, Non-chemical Control of Corn Borers Using Trichogramma or Bt Maize , can be downloaded here:
  Maize Case Study Guide Number 1 [pdf - 1,19 MB]

If you found this article interesting, you may want to consult:

• Learning IPM lessons from WCR in Hungary
• Non-chemical solutions to beat corn borers
• New training leaflet: the participatory approach
• Paper puts maize under the spotlight
• Maize weed control with fewer chemicals

To consult all ENDURE publications, click here.