Evaluation of spatial and temporal patterns of insect damage and aflatoxin level in the pre-harvest corn fields to improve management tactics.

Spatial and temporal patterns of insect damage in relation to aflatoxin contamination in a corn field with plants of uniform genetic background are not well understood. After previous examination of spatial patterns of insect damage and aflatoxin in pre-harvest corn fields, we further examined both spatial and temporal patterns of cob- and kernel-feeding insect damage, and aflatoxin level with two samplings at pre-harvest in 2008 and 2009. The feeding damage by each of the ear/kernel-feeding insects (i.

Evaluation of corn germplasm lines for multiple ear-colonizing insect and disease resistance.

Ear-colonizing insects and diseases that reduce yield and impose health threats by mycotoxin contaminations in the grain, are critical impediments for corn (Zea mays L.) production in the southern United States. Ten germplasm lines from the Germplasm Enhancement of Maize (GEM) Program in Ames, IA, and Raleigh, NC, and 10 lines (derived from GEM germplasm) from the Texas Agricultural Experiment Station in Lubbock, TX, were examined in 2007 and 2008 with local resistant and susceptible controls.

Spatial patterns of aflatoxin levels in relation to ear-feeding insect damage in pre-harvest corn.

Key impediments to increased corn yield and quality in the southeastern US coastal plain region are damage by ear-feeding insects and aflatoxin contamination caused by infection of Aspergillus flavus. Key ear-feeding insects are corn earworm, Helicoverpa zea, fall armyworm, Spodoptera frugiperda, maize weevil, Sitophilus zeamais, and brown stink bug, Euschistus servus. In 2006 and 2007, aflatoxin contamination and insect damage were sampled before harvest in three 0.

Impact of brown stink bug (Heteroptera: Pentatomidae) feeding on corn grain yield components and quality.

Brown stink bug, Euschistus servus (Say) (Heteroptera: Pentatomidae), damage on developing corn, Zea mays L., ears was examined in 2005 and 2006 by using eight parameters related to its yield and kernel quality. Stink bug infestations were initiated when the corn plants were at tasseling (VT), mid-silking (R1), and blister (R2) stages by using zero, three, and six in 2005 or zero, one, two, and four bugs per ear in 2006, and maintained for 9 d.

Differential responses of forage pearl millet genotypes to chinch bug (Heteroptera: Blissidae) feeding.

Chinch bug, Blissus leucopterus leucopterus (Say) (Heteroptera: Blissidae), is one of the most important insect pests on forage pearl millet, Pennisetum glaucum L. R. Br.

Changes in fungi and mycotoxins in pearl millet under controlled storage conditions.

Pearl millet is increasingly being grown as a premium-value grain for the recreational wildlife and poultry industries in the southern US. We conducted three experiments to assess grain mold development in storage conditions typically encountered in the region of production. Variables included production year, temperature, relative humidity, atmosphere, and grain moisture content.

United States Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Research Service research on improving host-plant resistance to pests.

Host-plant resistance is an efficient, economical and environmentally benign approach used to manage many pests and diseases of agricultural crops. After nearly a century of research, the resources and tools have become more refined, but the basic tasks in breeding for resistance have not changed. Resistance must be identified, incorporated into elite germplasm, and deployed in a form useful to growers.