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In-season application tips for corn rootworm

A professor of entomology says producers should consider insecticide applications to fight against corn rootworm pressure.

Bob Wright with the University of Nebraska says some growers have started spraying foliar insecticides to reduce egg-laying. “It’s really important that you time foliar insecticide properly. The first beetles to emerge are males, and they don’t lay eggs and then females emerge later and it takes them a week or more to be ready to lay eggs.”

And, he tells Brownfield, “You want to base it on the number of beetles and the timing in your area. If you do spray, continue to scout. The rootworm beetles can move around and reinfest the field or maybe late emerging beetles can build up.”

Wright says corn rootworm will likely be a bigger issue in areas with corn-on-corn acres and a mild winter where more eggs survived.