No tillage and detasseling: effect on the Asian corn borer Ostrinia furnacalis and ants
1988
Schreiner, I.H. | Nafus, D.M. (Guam Univ., Mangilao, Guam (U.S.A.). Dept. of Entomology)
Two tillage methods, conventional plowing and no-tillage, and several management practices were compared to see if the treatments affected the numbers of ground-dwelling predators which forage on sweet corn plants and prey on the Asian corn borer. Within each tillage treatments, four management practices were examined: weekly insecticide treatments, detasseling the corn at the pollen-shed stage, weekly insecticide treatment plus detaselling, and no treatment. The type of tillage practice had no significant effect on the number of foraging workers of two species of ants, Solenopsis geminata rufa and Monomorium minutum, which prey on Asian corn borer egg masses or pupae. There was also no difference in yields or the number of Asian corn borers among the tillage treatments. The practice of detasselling corn at the pollen shed stage significantly reduced the number of Asian corn borers compared to plants which had tassels, but the reduced number of Asian corn borers did not always lead to an increased yield. The insecticides tested had no significant impact on the number of Asian corn borers or in yields. A high proportion of the ears were damaged in a test.
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