Abstract
<p>The Western Corn Rootworm (WCR), <em>Diabrotica virgifera virgifera</em> LeConte, 1868, [Coleoptera, Chrysomelidae], whose larvae cause damage to maize roots, is an important economic insect pest in America and Europe. Its larvae are usually controlled by granular soil insecticides or insecticide-treated seeds. Biological control options, such as entomopathogenic nematodes (EPN) have played an important role as an alternative for synthetic chemical insecticides. Therefore, for the WCR larvae control we compared the effectiveness of inundative biological control on the basis of EPN <em>Heterorhabditis bacteriophora</em> Poinar, 1976 (Rhabditida: Heterorhabditidae); (commercial product Dianem<sup>®</sup>) and the conventional insecticides Force 1.5 g (active substance tefluthrin) from the group of synthetic pyrethriods and Sonido (active substance thiacloprid) from the group of neonicotinoids. Field experiments were carried out at geographically different locations under different population pressure of the insect pest in a), Bučečovci (Prlekija; Eastern Slovenia) and b), Šmartno (Gorenjska: northern Slovenia). The differences between the treatments were very similar at both locations; although the population of WCR in Gorenjska was approximately 5-fold lower than in Prlekija. The highest number of WCR beetles was caught in the negative control, followed by the product Sonido, Force and Dianem<sup>®</sup>, in decreasing order. Statistical analysis showed that only in the treatment where EPN were used, significantly less WCR was caught than in the control. The results of the WCR larvae control in maize using <em>Heterorhabditis bacteriophora</em> are comparable to published literature. However, the weather conditions in the 2016 trial were very favorable for the development and survival of EPN in the soil.</p>
Highlights
LeConte wrote the first formal description of the species Diabrotica v. virgifera in 1868 from beetles collected on pumpkin flowers Cucurbita foetidissima Kunth in Humb near Fort Wallace, Kansas, USA (Smith in Lawrence, 1967)
The maize seeds of the hybrid LG 34.90 (FAO 430) were sown in Šmartno by machine Gaspardo by the same procedure. On both locations, four treatments were conducted in 2016: 1. untreated control; 2. entomopathogenic nematodes (EPN); 3. synthetic pyrethroid insecticide Force 1,5 G (a.i. tefluthrin) and 4. seed coating with a neonicotinoid insecticide Sonido (a.i. thiacloprid) (Table 2)
The highest number of WCR beetles was caught in negative control, followed by Sonido and Force, and the least in the EPN treatment
Summary
LeConte wrote the first formal description of the species Diabrotica v. virgifera in 1868 from beetles collected on pumpkin flowers Cucurbita foetidissima Kunth in Humb near Fort Wallace, Kansas, USA (Smith in Lawrence, 1967). The WCR was first discovered in Europe in 1992 in Yugoslavia (Bača, 1994) and has become a threat to maize production areas in many European countries (Kiss et al, 2005). Official monitoring of the spreading of WCR in Slovenia has been organized since 1997. Its presence was first reported in 2003 in the eastern, northeastern (Prekmurje, Pomurje) and western part (Gorica) of Slovenia (Urek and Modic, 2004). In 2009 the entire territory of Slovenia was officially declared an infested area. Eight years after the occurrence of WCR the first damage caused by larval feeding was observed in Prekmurje (village Benica). In the five years damage by larval feeding was observed in more Slovenian regions, mainly in the fields with continuous maize
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