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Student 10-Minute Presentation Competition

Plant-Insect Ecosystems

Student Competition

Student

Grad 10-min Competition: P-IE, IPM 2

Comparative efficacy of aerial and chemigation insecticide applications for managing western bean cutworm based on a two-year on-farm study

Monday, November 10, 2025
10:42 AM - 10:54 AM Pacific
Location: Oregon Convention Center, Portland Ballroom 255, OCC
Oral Presentation Student Competition
Application method and timing can strongly influence the efficacy and efficiency of insecticide treatments. The western bean cutworm (WBC), Striacosta albicosta, is a significant pest of corn that can cause severe damage to corn ears through larval feeding. In Nebraska, WBC management frequently relies on insecticide application; however, inadequate applications or ineffective insecticides can lead to control failures. Therefore, this study aims to determine the most effective method for managing WBC in corn.
Most corn growers apply insecticides by airplane targeting this pest, but spray coverage is not uniform. Some growers apply insecticides through the irrigation system, known as chemigation. In an on-farm research study over two growing seasons, bifenthrin and chlorantraniliprole were applied at the tasseling stage at their label rates 52.6 and 88 g AI/ha, respectively. Aerial applications were performed at 18.7 L/ha of carrier volume, while chemigation was applied at 2.1 ha-mm for chlorantraniliprole, and 5.15 ha-mm for bifenthrin.
The efficacy of applied insecticides was evaluated by assessing WBC crop injury. Plots were scouted for the presence of live or dead WBC larvae and eggs by destructive sampling at 7, 14, and 21 days after treatment (DAT). At 28 DAT, 20 ears per plot were collected and assessed for the presence and size of larvae, and the amount of feeding damage (cm2) was measured. The amount of feeding damage and potential yield losses were compared between all treatments.