The hybrid of few pests is causing a havoc for the crop cultivators. The corn earworm and bollworms are few of the insects whose hybrids are difficult to manage. We have known about bollworm in one of the previous blogs. Now, it’s time to know about corn earworms.
Let me tell you that the estimated annual cost of the damage caused by corn earworms is more than US$100 million.
Corn earworms are mostly found in the temperate and tropical regions of North America and the eastern United States. They regularly migrate from southern regions to northern regions depending upon the winter conditions. Corn earworms are considered as the second most economic species in North America.
Corn earworms have the ability to lay eggs around 500 to 3000 which are deposited on leaf hairs and corn silks. In the larval stage after hatching from eggs, they feed on reproductive structures of plants. The larval stage of corn earworms is considered the most destructive stage.
Mature larvae usually have orange heads, black thorax plates, and the body color mostly black. Their body colors can also be brown, pink, green, and yellow with many thorny micro spines. They usually migrate to the soil where they pupate for 12 to 16 days. They pupate 5 to 10 cm below the earth surface.
Adult moths have forewings that are yellowish brown in color and have a dark spot located in the center of their body. The moths have a wingspan ranging from 32 to 45mm and live over thirty days in optimal condition Adult moths collect nectar or other plant exudates from a large number of plants, and live for 12 to 16 days.
Corn earworms have the large host plant range encompassing corn and many other crop plants such as tomato, cabbage, eggplant, cucumber, melon, okra, pea, sweet potato, etc.
The corn earworm feeds on every part of corn, including the kernels. Severe feeding at the tip of kernels allows entry for diseases and mold growth. Larvae penetrate 9 to 15 cm into the ear, with deeper penetration occurring as the kernels harden. Larvae do not eat the hard kernels, but take bites out of many kernels, lowering the quality of the corn for processing.
There are various ways of combating corn earworms. But those methods are found ineffective as these smart insects have developed resistance against all the methods. They are attacking the crops and the evidence for the same as noted below:
The hybrid swarm of ‘mega-pests’ threatens crops worldwide, warn scientists
The new strain could be a significant biosecurity risk and has the potential to go ‘completely undetected’
Josh Gabbatiss Science Correspondent Saturday 7 April 2018
A pair of major agricultural pests has combined to produce a “mega-post” that could threaten crops around the world.
Losses from the original pest species, cotton bollworms, and corn earworms, already amount to billions of dollars worth of food.
But a hybrid of the two shows signs of rapidly developing resistance to pesticides and it scientists fear it could cross international boundaries undetected, wiping out all the crops it comes across.
Insect resistant Bt corn losing effectiveness against earworm, study finds
Graham Binder | January 23, 2017, | Phys.org
A UMD-led study provides new evidence of a decline in the effectiveness of genetically engineered traits widely used to protect corn crops from insects. This loss of effectiveness could damage U.S. corn production and spur increased use of potentially harmful insecticides.
Corn crops engineered with genes from the bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) express specific proteins called Cry proteins (endotoxins) that, when ingested, kill crop pests like the earworm. Because the Bt protein is very selective…[and] less harmful than broad-spectrum insecticides.
In 2015, 81 percent of all corn planted was genetically engineered with Bt. Recently, however, certain states, most notably North Carolina and Georgia, have experienced increased corn ear damage, setting the stage for risk of damage to corn production across a large portion of the country.
Since from the evidence we came to know that the corn earworms have developed resistance to many pesticides. By manipulation of crops genes we do develop the crop resistance to many insects but at the time the insects also develop resistance.
Hence there is a need for using an external but effective method to save our crops from these pesky corn earworms.
Such a method is to use Combirepel™ an eco-friendly insect aversive. Combirepel™ is developed on the basis of green chemistry and technology to protect the crops against a broad spectrum of insects.
Combirepel™ can be used in the fields in various ways in order to provide the best protection to crops from corn earworms.
Combirepel™works on the mechanism of repellency. It temporarily inhibits the mating cycle of the insects. The product impairs the ability of the insects to reproduce, that is the insects will not lay eggs or the laid eggs will be infertile. The product causes feeding disruption in an insect by triggering an unpleasant reaction within the insect which might try to feed on the application. The product temporarily blocks the reproduction system of the insects by hindering the release of the vital hormones for growth.
Combirepel™ is an extremely low concern, low toxic, nonhazardous, non-carcinogenic and non-mutagenic insect aversive.
Combirepel™ provides you an economically feasible and effective solution against insects.
Combirepel™ does not kill or cause harm to insects as well as to the environment which indirectly helps to maintain the ecological balance.
Combirepel™ is thermally stable and does not degrade on exposure to heat and sunlight. It does not kill or harm the insect but repels them. It does not volatilize and does not degrade the soil. It is RoHS, RoHS2, ISO, REACH, APVMA, NEA compliant and FIFRA exempted.
Don’t you think you must take the immediate step to protect the crops from these major agriculture pests?
Contact us at technical.marketing@ctechcorporation.com to keep the pests away.
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