Document Type

Thesis - Open Access

Award Date

1986

Degree Name

Master of Science (MS)

Department / School

Plant Science

Abstract

The European corn borer, Ostrinia nubilalis, is South Dakota's most damaging pest in corn. Its occurrence is unpredictable and can be very destructive with losses estimated to be 10- 12% of the total corn production. The northern counties in South Dakota have a single generation/year, further south two generations/year often occur. In the area on the southern border and along the Missouri River, a two-generation corn borer is a perennial pest. The damage resulting from European corn borer is al so difficult to predict. Previous authors have used artificial infestations to study yield reductions. A 3% loss/borer was used as a standard estimate of yield loss due to first generation damage. In the presence of a two-generation population, losses become more difficult to predict and Chiang et al. suggested they be evaluated separately. Reports differ as to which generation causes greater yield loss. Berry and Campbell found first- and second-generation damage was greater than first generation damage alone. The second generation does cause some damage, but the yield loss/unit of damage is greater for the first generation. Foott and Timmins used natural infestations and chemical controls to separate damage by each generation. They found second generation yield loss to be much greater than the first. Yield loss/unit of damage was not considered. The present study is an effort to evaluate the damage to yield relationship that exists for the bivoltine population in South Dakota. Natural infestations were used, recognizing a possible bias of artificial infestations.

Library of Congress Subject Headings

European corn borer
Corn -- Silage -- Diseases and pests -- South Dakota
Grain -- Diseases and pests -- South Dakota

Format

application/pdf

Number of Pages

109

Publisher

South Dakota State University

Rights

No Copyright - United State
http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/NoC-US/1.0/

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