Common Stalk Borer Control in No-Till Field Corn, 1984

Abstract

Abstract This experiment was conducted on the Dan Harvey farm in Epping, NH, where an infestation of common stalk borer had occurred the previous year. Both the at-planting time treatment of Furadan 15G and the foliar applications of Pydrin 2.4E at the rates and timing suggested on their labels were made by the grower with conventional equipment. The 10-acre field which had been sown to winter rye the previous fall was no-till planted on 32-inch centers field corn on 16 May ’84 using a 4-row White no-till planter equipped with granular applicators. Furadan 15G was applied to 2 of the 4 rows at a rate of 15 lb/acre (2.25 lb (AI)/acre), leaving the other 2 rows to serve as an untreated check. The field was planted in a circular pattern so that every other 2 rows across the field was either treated with Furadan 15G or left untreated. On 18 May ’84, 2 days after the corn was planted, the winter rye crop was killed with berbicidal tank-mix consisting of Roundup (1 qt/acre), Lasso (1 qt/acre) ahd Aatrex (1 qt/acre) in 30 gal water/acre. On 0.5 of the 10-acre field, Pydrin 2.4E was applied as a tank-mix with the herbicides at a rate of 7 oz/acre (0.13 lb (AI)/acre). The remainder of the field received only the herbicides. On 12 Jun ’84 an evaluation of the effectiveness of these treatments was made by randomly selecting 4 two-row plots 100 ft long for each of the 4 treatments established. All of the plants were examined for common stalk borer injury and the injured plants were dissected and the number of live stalk borer larvae was recorded. A second application of Pydrin 2.4E was made on 19 Jun ’84 to determine its effectiveness as a rescue treatment. A repeat evaluation of all the treatments was then conducted on 28 Jun ’84. Yields were obtained on 19 Sep ’84 by weighing the corn harvested from 16 ft 4 inches of row (1/1000 Acre) from each treatment replicated 3 times. Soil and root samples from each of the treatments were collected on 5 Jul ’84 and sent to L. R. Krusberg, Botany Department, University of Maryland, for analysis.