Influence of soil on the efficacy of entomopathogenic nematodes in reducing Diabrotica virgifera virgifera in maize

The use of entomopathogenic nematodes is one potential non-chemical approach to control the larvae of the invasive western corn rootworm (Diabrotica virgifera virgifera LeConte, Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae) in Europe. This study investigated the efficacy of Heterorhabditis bacteriophora Poinar (Rhabditida: Heterorhabditidae), Heterorhabditis megidis Poinar, Jackson and Klein (Rh., Heterorhabditidae) and Steinernema feltiae Filipjev (Rh., Steinernematidae) in reducing D. v. virgifera as a function of soil characteristics. A field experiment was repeated four times in southern Hungary using artificially infested maize plants potted into three different soils. Sleeve gauze cages were used to assess the number of emerging adult D. v. virgifera from the treatments and untreated controls. Results indicate that nematodes have the potential to reduce D. v. virgifera larvae in most soils; however, their efficacy can be higher in maize fields with heavy clay or silty clay soils than in sandy soils, which is in contrast to the common assumption that nematodes perform better in sandy soils than in heavy soils

Distribution of Diabrotica virgifera virgifera LeConte in Serbia in 1998

In order to monitor the spread and population density of Diabrotica virgifera virgifera LeConte in the Serbian territory, Hungarian Csalomon pheromone traps were used as the primary monitoring tool in 1998. Out of 515 locations, adults were detected at 437 locations. Compared to 1997, the western corn rootworm population increased. In 1998, the area infested by D. virgifera virgifera was approximately 61,400 km2. The population increased at a slower rate than in previous years, probably due to extremely hot and dry weather. A population of economic importance was recorded on an area that measured 14,000 km2. Within this area, 455.13 km2 (45,513 ha) of damaged corn was reported. The estimated corn yield loss varied from 1% to 70%, but in most fields, the estimated yield loss was approximately 30%. Control recommendations, based on the number of captured WCR adults, are being considered for 1999 in monoculture corn as well as in continuous corn

Development of Trapping Tools for Detection and Monitoring of Diabrotica v. virgifera in Europe

Trap designs baited with the synthetic sex pheromone have been optimized for trapping of the western corn rootworm Diabrotica v. virgifera LeConte (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae) (WCR), which has recently been introduced into Europe. The best trap design proved to be the sticky “cloak” trap (code name “PAL”), which catches only males, and is being used in many countries of Europe for detection and monitoring the spread of the new pest. Preliminarily the range of attraction (as defined by Wall and Perry, 1987) of the pheromone traps was estimated to be <10 m. The performance of yellow sticky plates (used by others for monitoring of the pest) was insignificant as compared to the activity of the pheromone baited traps, and yellow colour had no discernible effect on catches in pheromone traps. The known floral lure of WCR containing 4-methoxy-cinnamaldehyde and indole proved to be active also towards the population in Europe, attracting both females and males. Yellow colour slightly increased catches by the floral lure, hence a yellow sticky “cloak” trap has been developed (code name PALs). Pheromone baited PAL traps caught a total of about 4 times more beetles than the floral baited PALs, which latter however appeared to be preferentially active for females. When placed into the same trap, the pheromonal and floral lures did not interfere with each other's activity