Retailers say that they saw an increase in corn rootworm in 2020and they expect the trend to continue this year.
That suggests that growers will need more application of corn soil insecticides, but Jim Lappin of AMVAC says that the best way to combat corn rootworm is rotating crops.
“Rotating to soybeans in a field where you’ve had high pressure or suspected high pressure is one option, but that’s not always a viable option. A lot of growers, particularly in livestock heavy areas need that corn for livestock feed,” Lappin states. “If they’re in a continuous corn situation they need to look at their overall strategy and our recommendation is pick the hybrids that make the most sense to hit your field objectives and then design your insect strategy around those hybrids.”
He says that it is important to monitor your fields and lay out stick traps to gauge the number of beetles you have.
