Mm. Ellsbury et al., SOIL COMPACTION EFFECT ON CORN-ROOTWORM POPULATIONS IN MAIZE ARTIFICIALLY INFESTED WITH EGGS OF WESTERN CORN-ROOTWORM (COLEOPTERA, CHRYSOMELIDAE), Environmental entomology, 23(4), 1994, pp. 943-948
Controlled infestation with eggs of western corn rootworms, Diabrotica
virgifera virgifera LeConte, was used in a 2-yr study on the effects
of wheel traffic-induced soil compaction on com rootworm establishment
, survival, and larval injury to the roots of maize, Zea mays L. Root
injury ratings and cumulative emergence of adults of western corn root
worms, as taken from emergence cages, were lowest in plots where eggs
had been infested into compacted interrows. Measurements of soil bulk
density, air-filled porosity, and air permeability were taken on core
samples to characterize soil physical properties in relation to soil c
ompaction. Lowest rootworm survival and injury coincided with higher b
ulk density, lower air-filled porosity, and lower air permeability val
ues characteristic of soil from the compacted interrow plots. Survival
and establishment of western corn rootworm larvae were associated wit
h greater soil pore continuity in uncompacted plots. Soil compaction i
nduced by controlled wheel traffic may have potential as a management
strategy for reducing larval corn rootworm movement into strip intercr
opped maize adjacent to areas previously planted to maize and rotated
into a crop that is not a host for corn rootworms.