Western corn rootworm (WCR) and soybean cyst nematode (SCN) are among the worst pests of corn and soybean, respectively, in the Midwestern United States. A variant of WCR in the eastern Corn Belt deposits its eggs in soybean fields. This behavior creates potential for interaction between WCR and SCN. We designed experiments in the greenhouse and the field to investigate whether soybeans infested with SCN affected behavior of adult WCR.
Soil infested and not infested with SCN was removed from pots of soybeans grown in the greenhouse and presented in a choice test to a single female WCR (multiple replications). The beetles used in the test were reared from either the variant that lays eggs in soybean (collected from eastern Illinois) or the “normal” variant that lays eggs mostly in corn (collected from western Illinois). Results from statistical analysis indicated no differences in observed beetle behavior or the number of eggs laid in either “type” of soil during the test.
Densities of SCN and WCR adults and eggs were assessed in four varieties of soybean grown in a field trial. We found significantly more adult female WCR in ‘Dairyland DST3147’ (highly resistant to SCN) than in ‘Kruger 2434+’ (susceptible to SCN). However, yield, plant phenology, plant color, and plant height— parameters affected by SCN infestations— were not correlated with WCR adult numbers.
We have some evidence to suggest that WCR may have a preference for soybeans less affected by SCN. However, this preference did not translate into an ovipositional preference.
Species 1: Coleoptera Chrysomelidae Diabrotica Virgifera Virgifera (Western Corn Rootworm)
Species 2: Tylenchoidea Heteroderidae Heterodera glycines (Soybean Cyst Nematode)
Keywords: soybean, oviposition
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