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Comparative efficacy assessment of fungi, nematodes and insecticides to control western corn rootworm larvae in maize

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Abstract

All three larval instars of Diabrotica virgifera virgifera LeConte (western corn rootworm, Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae) feed on the roots of maize, Zea mays (L.). We assessed the efficacies of the following four agents in controlling these larvae: (1) the entomopathogenic fungus Metarhizium anisopliae (Metsch.) Sorokin (Hypocreales: Clavicipitaceae), (2) the nematode Heterorhabditis bacteriophora Poinar (Nematoda: Rhabditida), (3) a tefluthrin-based soil insecticide and (4) clothianidin-coated seeds. The agents were applied in field plot experiments in southern Hungary in 2006 and 2007. Efficacy was assessed by comparing the number of emerging D. v. virgifera adults and corresponding root damage among treatments and untreated controls. All agents significantly reduced D. v. virgifera numbers and root damage, but the relative success of each treatment was variable. On average across fields and years, the nematode and the two insecticides reduced D. v. virgifera by 65 ± 34% SD, while the fungus reduced D. v. virgifera by 31 ± 7%. According to the node injury scale, the agents prevented 23–95% of potential root damage. Large-scale commercialisation of these biological agents could offer viable and practical control options against D. v. virgifera.

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Acknowledgements

This work was possible due to the hospitality and technical support of the Plant Health Service in Hodmezovasarhely, Hungary, offered by Ibolya Zseller, Jozsef Gavallier, Kataline Buzas, Erzsebet Dormannsne, Piroska Szabo, Andras Varga, Laszlo Hodi, Ferenc Koncz and others. We would like to thank our summer students Bobe Kovacs (Agricultural College, Hodmezovasarhely), Benedikt Kurtz (University of Kiel) and Ferenc Koncz Jr. (Hodmezovasarhely) for their support during our field work; e-nema (Raisdorf, Germany) for providing nematodes; Ivan Hiltpold (University Neuchatel, Switzerland), Lajos Kunos (Plant Protection Service, Szolnok, Hungary), Peter Weisskopf and Marlies Sommer (Agroscope, Reckenholz, Switzerland) for the soil analyses, Marianne Baroni (University Neuchatel) for her helpful collaboration during our field work, and Michael Cripps (Lincoln University, USA), Patrick Turko (Winnipeg, Canada) and Stefan T. Jaronski (USDA ARS NPARL, Sidney MT, USA) for reviewing the manuscript. This study was funded by the CTI Innovation Promotion Agency of the Federal Office for Professional Education and Technology in Bern, Switzerland (CTI P–No. 7485.1 LSPP-LS), with in-kind contributions from Landi REBA, Basel, Switzerland; e-nema, Raisdorf, Germany; and Eric Schweizer Samen AG, Thun, Switzerland.

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  1. Agroscope Reckenholz-Tänikon (ART), Reckenholzstrasse 119, 8046, Zurich, Switzerland

    Christina Pilz & Siegfried Keller

  2. CABI Europe—Switzerland, Rue des Grillons 1, 2800, Delémont, Switzerland

    Ulrich Kuhlmann

  3. CABI Europe, c/o Plant Health Service, Rarosi ut 110, 6800, Hodmezovasarhely, Hungary

    Stefan Toepfer

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  1. Christina Pilz
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Pilz, C., Keller, S., Kuhlmann, U. et al. Comparative efficacy assessment of fungi, nematodes and insecticides to control western corn rootworm larvae in maize. BioControl 54, 671–684 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10526-009-9209-x

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