Abstract
Eight insecticide experiments were conducted in 7 localities of Côte d'Ivoire to study the feasibility of developing a reliable model of crop losses of maize caused by stem borers based on damage assessment during the growing cycle. The observed damage was the percentage of tunneled internodes and the percentage of dead-hearts 80 d after seedling emergence. Five trials were used to fit the model; the remaining 3 were used to validate it. Sampling throughout the growing cycle revealed that only 2 borer species were involved: Busseola fusca (Fuller) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) and Eldana saccharina Walker (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae). Dead-hearts were mainly caused by the 1st species, whereas the tunneled internodes resulted from the presence of both pests. The model, which is aimed at estimating crop losses after damage has occurred, explained 81% of the variation in yield. The validation study showed that the model enabled a prediction of yield within a range of approximately ±10% at different localities and under different infestation conditions.
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