Across the corn belt depending on time of year | MNfarmer85: based on your profile, you are located in south central MN. Here is a response from a farmer relatively close to you (I think). He is located @ 30 miles north of Worthington, MN. Biocontrol nematodes were applied around mid-May to half of a field and the other half was left without biocontrol nematodes.
"Hi Elson, I have been digging roots the last 3 weeks with my seed salesman. We dug 60' from the nematode border in the untreated section of the field on July 11 & 18 on plants without biocontrol nematodes and floated 8-10 larvae/plant. With plants in the nematode treated part of the field, we floated 2-4 larvae/plant. On July 25th, there were 6 juvenile NCRW on plants without nematodes and 1-2 rootworm pupae on plants with nematodes. We have been impressed at how well nematodes have reduced the rootworm population in the first year. We are currently putting out sticky cards in both areas to see if there are a difference in adults captured on the sticky cards."
As an additional note: It takes until the second growing season for the applied nematodes to reach their full rootworm suppression potential. This is year 1 population reduction. If the farmer was to keep this trial going for 2026, the level of rootworm larvae floated in the nematode side would be even less. |
rootworm damage on CRW corn paid for by seed companies
