Gassmann, Aaron

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Email Address
aaronjg@iastate.edu
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Title
Professor
Academic or Administrative Unit
Organizational Unit
Entomology

The Department of Entomology seeks to teach the study of insects, their life-cycles, and the practicalities in dealing with them, for use in the fields of business, industry, education, and public health. The study of entomology can be applied towards evolution and ecological sciences, and insects’ relationships with other organisms & humans, or towards an agricultural or horticultural focus, focusing more on pest-control and management.

History
The Department of Entomology was founded in 1975 as a result of the division of the Department of Zoology and Entomology.

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Integrated pest management for corn rootworm in Iowa

2009-12-01 , Gassmann, Aaron , Dunbar, Michael , Weber, Patrick

The western corn rootworm (WCR) Diabrotica virgifera virgifera LeConte and the northern corn rootworm (NCR) Diabrotica barberi Smith & Lawrence are two significant insect pests of corn in North America. Various pest management options are available to farmers to control rootworm including crop rotation, soil insecticides, and transgenic Bt corn. Crop rotation is effective because rootworm typically lay eggs in corn fields during the fall, which then hatch the next spring and injure corn. If fields are rotated from corn to soybeans, larvae will hatch and starve in the soybean field. Rotation back to corn from soybeans provides a corn field that is free from rootworm eggs. Transgenic rootworm corn produces a Bt toxin that kills rootworm. The Environmental Protection Agency requires that a non-Bt refuge is planted in conjunction with the Bt corn. When possible, crop rotation is the recommended method for managing rootworm. For continuous corn, planting of transgenic corn or use of a soil insecticides is recommended after the first year of corn production. Current questions about these management options include: 1) does the presence of rotation-resistant western corn rootworm threaten the efficacy of crop rotation in Iowa? 2) Will application of a soil insecticide on Bt corn increase yield?