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ViewAttendees 2

Student 10-Minute Paper

Plant-Insect Ecosystems

Student Competition

Student

Grad Competition P-IE: IPM - Field Crops 1

(1st Place) The impact of landscape composition on local management of the seedcorn maggot in field corn

Monday, November 6, 2023
9:36 AM – 9:48 AM ET
Location: Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center, Potomac C
In-Person Student Competition
The expansion and intensification of agricultural production across the landscape has been shown to influence local insect populations and subsequent on-farm pest management practices. Understanding the interactions between landscape, insect populations, and on-farm practices is essential to developing sustainable management practices. The seedcorn maggot, Delia platura (Meigen), is a fly pest whose larvae damage the seeds of corn, soybean, and other crops before and during germination. Since this damage leaves growers with no rescue options, conventional growers often use insecticide seed treatments as a preventative measure. Cover crops that have been incorporated into soil are thought to attract ovipositing adult flies, worsening damage to crop seeds. However, well-replicated studies on working farms that test the effect of cover crops on seedcorn maggot have been missing. To address this knowledge gap, we investigated the effects on seedcorn maggot of: (1) the interaction between landscape simplification and cover crops in organic fields; and (2) the interaction between cover crops and insecticide seed treatment on conventional field corn farms. We found seedcorn maggot pressure to be highly variable among farms. Cover crops had variable impact on seedcorn maggot damage, with high variability across farms and our sampling periods. When significant differences were found, untilled cover crops reduced the presence of seedcorn maggot damage in comparison to bare fields. Ongoing collaborations with growers will further our understanding of how seed treatments and cover cropping affect seedcorn maggot pressure in field corn in New York State.