Management of grape colaspis, Colaspis brunnea (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae), in seed corn production

Abstract

<p>In recent years, grape colaspis, Colaspis brunnea (F.), larvae have caused significant injury to seed corn by feeding on the surface of the root, denuding it of root hairs. This study tested two management techniques for C. brunnea in seed corn. The first objective was to test the efficacy of commercially available insecticides, specifically neonicotinoid seed treatments, in protecting commercial seed corn from C. brunnea larval injury. The results of this study showed insecticides offer protection to the seedling corn from C. brunnea larvae; however, no insecticide treatment significantly outperformed any other. The second objective was to develop and test the use of using foliar-applied insecticides to reduce adult C. brunnea populations and subsequently reduce larval populations. One or two applications of insecticides were found to significantly reduce adult and larval C. brunnea populations.</p>