Purdue and University of Illinois researchers say they may have identified a unique way of combatting corn rootworm beetles — planting a corn variety that is especially attractive to them.
The researchers have discovered a novel corn mutant which lacks the normal defence mechanism against the beetles. This could allow a “push-pull” strategy of luring them to a specific location where they can be controlled.
“Once you can get them where you want, you can use efficient, cost-effective ways of controlling them, either by directly targeting and eliminating them or by keeping them away from your main crop,” said Christian Krupke, Purdue assistant professor of entomology.
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A Purdue release says western corn rootworm causes more than $1 billion damage a year in yield losses and control costs in the U.S., earning it the nickname “the billion-dollar bug.”
The rootworm larvae chew on the roots of corn plants while the adult beetles eat the silks and pollen. Current control measures include crop rotation, transgenic corn plants and insecticides. But a rise in continuous corn systems, increased rootworm resistance to transgenic plants and changes in rootworm behaviour have rendered these management strategies less effective.
