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- Researcher working on insecticide treatments in corn, soybeans
Sebe Brown, an LSU AgCenter entomologist, has several ongoing projects to study the best ways to treat corn and soybeans against insect pests.
Brown is evaluating seed treatments for above- and below-ground insect pests at the Dean Lee Research and Extension Center in Alexandria. Neonicotinoid compounds are being reviewed for the below-ground pests including wireworms, corn rootworm and sugarcane beetle.
He said the work is showing that the most effective product is Poncho 500 and Poncho 1250, with residual activity of 18 to 21 days. He said the options are more expensive but worth the cost.
“If you’re planting corn after corn, you need robust above- and below-ground pest management,” he said.
Another study focuses on Bt traits. While corn earworms have become resistant to some Bt traits, a pyramid with three products is superior, he said.
“Typically, it gives it a broader spectrum and a wider range of protection against the corn earworm,” he said.
The new technology uses the Vip Bt protein that is offered in corn and cotton.
“We’re evaluating those products for resistance and how field corn varieties perform against resistant populations of corn earworms,” he said.
Also, for soybeans, Brown is studying which neonicotinoid seed treatment is best for wireworms, bean leaf beetles and the three-cornered alfalfa hopper.
Bruce Schultz
The LSU AgCenter and the LSU College of Agriculture