Assessment of insects and its influences of seed corn production in mid-elevation of Bukidnon [Philippines]
2010
Tatoy, B.F., Borres, C.C., Lapoot, C.R., Salvani, J.B., Department of Agriculture-Northern Mindanao Integrated Agricultural Research Center, Dalwangan, Malaybalay City, Bukidnon (Philippines)
An assessment study was conducted at NOMIARC, Dalwangan, Malaybalay City from May 2007 to March 2009 using USM var. 10 OPV white corn to determine contribution of insects on seed corn production. Methods to assess insects were pitfall traps, yellow pan traps, sweep net, visual sampling and destructive sampling. Out of 157 insects recovered, 20 species were insect pests with 4 destructive species: cutworm, field cricket, corn borer and corn earworm. BPH and aphids were predominant but no significant damage was noted. There are 137 species of natural enemies recovered belonging to 9 orders. Most diverse were Hymenoptera with 68 species followed by Coleoptera (29 species), Hemiptera and Diptera (12 species). Important beneficial insects were lady beetle, lacewings, earwigs, tachinid flies, nitidulid beetles, damsel bug, assassin bug, mirid bug, ichoneumonid wasp, braconid wasp and minute pirate bugs found infesting eggs, larvae, nymphs and adult insect pests.Promising biological control agent found were entomophatogenic fungi, green muscardine and Beauveria basiana found infesting Lepidopterous larva. The corn ecosystem shows much diversity with built-in mechanisms for natural pest control that suppressed insect population outbreak. Factors affecting seed corn production were loss of plant stand caused by cutworm, field cricket contributing seed loss of 0.48 t/ha and corn borer damage contributing seed loss from 8.20% to 82.36% generating average total yield of 4.02 t/ha with only 2.0 t/ha seed corn, 50% of the total production. It is recommended that in seed corn production control of cutworms, field cricket, corn borer and corn earworm should be considered.
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