Bt Corn Rootworm Protected Corn: Performance and Resistance Management

Although field corn pest management has remained largely dependent on restricted-use, broad-spectrum insecticides (organophosphates, carbamates and pyrethroids) for corn rootworm control, this situation is changing rapidly with the 2003–2004 market entry of highly selective tactics, including genetically modified Bt rootworm corn hybrids and nicotinoid insecticidal seed treatments labeled for corn rootworm control. From familiar liquid and granular soil-applied insecticides (full label rate or reduced rate), to new insecticidal seed treatments, crop rotation, and transgenic Bt corn hybrids replete with insect resistance management (IRM) and refuge stewardship requirements, producers and consultants are faced with an unprecedented diversity of individual rootworm control tactics. Well-proven principles of IPM hold the key to structuring a sustainable and affordable corn rootworm management system that does not rely too extensively on any one practice, tactic, chemical, or technology, and will exploit as many strategies for suppressing pest levels as possible (Benbrook, 2000).