European Corn Borer: Pest Management by Integrating Scouting Computer Software, and Insecticides

A computer program, known as the European com borer – phenology and management software, was recently developed for use in Iowa. The software is designed to perform three different operations: 1) to analyze the costs of an insecticide application for first generation European com borer control and determine if this management activity is potentially profitable, 2) to predict the dates when second generation European com borer eggs will be laid and suggest a time period for scouting, and 3) to compare the economic costs versus the benefits of making an insecticide application for control of second generation European com borers. The software is user friendly and is designed for use by farmers, crop consultants, vo-ag instructors, extension agriculturists, ag-chem dealers, or anyone else with a desire to better manage European com borers. The software comes with an instructional guide that completely explains how to use the program. A brief description of the software program is given below