Evaluation of Foliar Insecticides for the Control of Western Bean Cutworm in Field Corn, 2015

The western bean cutworm (WBC) is an important pest of corn and dry beans. This study was conducted within the historic range of WBC in western Nebraska; however, it has undergone a rapid range expansion into the eastern Corn Belt within the last 16 years. This field trial was established to evaluate the efficacy of a single application of foliar insecticides against this pest to prevent feeding damage to non-Bt corn ears. The trial was located at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln’s West Central Water Resources Field Laboratory in Keith County, Nebraska, USA (41.160246° N, –102.035695° W). A RCB design with four treatments (including an untreated check) and four replications was used. Each plot was eight rows by 30 ft. The trial was planted on 8 Jun using a small plot research planter at 32,000 seeds/acre at an approximate depth of 1.4–1.75 inch in 30 inch rows. The hybrid planted was DKC51-19RIB (Monsanto Company, St. Louis, MO) expressing Cry1A.105, Cry2Ab2, and Cry3Bb1 Bt proteins, which do not affect WBC. The plots received irrigation, fertilization, and weed management inputs following standard agronomic practices for the region, with no insecticide applications other than the experimental treatments