Farmers' Perspectives on IPM Field Scouting During a Period of Insect Pest Range Expansion: A Case Study of Variant Western Corn Rootworm (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae) in Wisconsin

Abstract

The positive effects of integrated pest management (IPM) sampling, pest population assessment, and economic thresholds on farmer profitability and environmental sustainability should not be overlooked, particularly when applied over millions of acres within a region such as the U.S. Corn Belt. A behavioral change in the western corn rootworm ( Diabrotica virgifera virgifera LeConte), enables oviposition by the variant strain in soybeans, Glycine max (L.) Merr., resulting in economic root injury risk to corn, Zea mays L., the following year. Using science-based IPM scouting and economic thresholds for variant western corn rootworm beetles in soybeans, we documented the variant's range expansion into southeastern Wisconsin, identifying affected and unaffected counties across a nine-county area. A mail survey (n = 204; 60.3% response rate) was used to examine differences in awareness, knowledge, and perceptions of the variant among Wisconsin farmers living in affected and unaffected areas. IPM for corn rootworm in first-year corn is a novel construct for farmers in a newly affected region, affected and unaffected areas exist during the pest's range expansion, and farmers have yet to establish habitual management practices for the variant. Our results suggest farmer readiness to adopt corn rootworm IPM for first-year corn; however, farmers expressed caution. These concurrent results signal a need for targeted IPM development with increased farmer incentives. Communication and information exchange with farmers, as accomplished with the Wisconsin case study, are essential to moving forward with joint research, extension, policy, and agribusiness initiatives during a time of significant challenge and opportunity in field crop IPM.