Recent losses from Dectes stem borer lodging have increased in the area. Research and demonstration plots on research and cooperating farms found insecticide applications can reduce adult populations and percent of infested stems. However, there were no differences between lodging loss and yield. Although a minimum of two insecticide applications appear to be necessary to reduce yield loss due to lodging, that has not been documented. This research evaluates the effectiveness of multiple foliar insecticide applications to control Dectes stem bores and determines if the timing for making foliar application-based on adult beetle emergence can apply on an area-wide basis.

Key Benefactors:
farmers, agronomists, Extension agents, entomologists, crop scouts