Corn as trap crop to control <em>Helicoverpa zea</em> in tomato fields: importance of phenological synchronization and choice of cultivar

International audienceTrap cropping is an environmentally friendly "alternative" pest management strategy. To maximize the efficiency of corn, Zea mays L. (Poaceae), as a trap crop for Helicoverpa zea (Boddie) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae), we (i) tested the trap crop potential of corn varieties that are not a source of infestation, and (ii) determined the best corn planting time so as to concentrate H. zea in this trap crop and divert the pest from tomato, Solanum lycopersicum L. (Solanaceae). When corn silk emergence was synchronized with tomato flowering and fresh corn silk was present during the tomato flowering stage, H. zea infestation was lower in the tomato field with a corn border than in those without a corn border. Sugar Jean and Java corn varieties were good trap crops because few larvae persisted on the silks and their growth was low. These two varieties could reduce the risk of H. zea development and dispersion from corn borders