Tuesday, December 11, 2007 - 11:17 AM
0908

Impact of vegetable oils on ear-feeding insect damage in sweet corn

Xinzhi Ni, xinzhi.ni@ars.usda.gov1, Alton N. Sparks, asparks@uga.edu2, and David G. Riley, dgr@uga.edu2. (1) USDA-ARS, Crop Genetics and Breeding Research Unit, PO Box 748, Tifton, GA, (2) University of Georgia, Entomology, P.O. Box 1209, Tifton, GA

Impact of applying vegetable oils into sweet corn silks on corn earworm damage and sap beetle population at harvest was evaluated in 2006 and 2007. Six vegetable oils used in this experiment were canola, corn, olive, peanut, sesame, and soybean oils. Two commercial plant-based oils (Sun-spray® and Neemix®) and water were used as controls for the experiment. Oil application was performed at two developmental stages (pre- and post-pollination) of the sweet corn plants. At pre-harvest, corn earworm damage ratings and sap beetle populations were recorded and compared. Ramification of this experiment would also be discussed.


Species 1: Lepidoptera Noctuidae Helicoverpa zea (corn earworm)
Species 2: Coleoptera Nitidulidae Carpophilus spp (corn sap beetle, dusky sap beetle)