Professional paper

Wireworms (Eleteridae), important corn pests

Marijana Ivanek-Martinlić ; Visoko gospodarsko učilište u Križevcima

Abstract

Wireworms (Elateridae) are important polyphagous pests of different crops. They belong to the most significant corn pests and they are chemically controlled. Wireworms are drilled in puffed up corn seed which doesn’t sprout; they attack the young plants’ root and they are drilled in the neck root of older plants, which leads to the complete decomposition of young plants or the weaker growth of later attacked plants. As opposed to suppressing the majority of pests after being noticed, wireworms can only be prevented. That is also one of the reasons for many farmers not to fight wireworms at all, or they suppress them without the true estimation of possible damages. In order for suppressing wireworms to be economically and ecologically acceptable, it is necessary to predict the attack. That means that the numerousness of wireworms should be estimated before seeding corn, and they should be suppressed only after the prediction of their attack is confirmed. In the conditions of the Republic of Croatia, the decision boundary is 3 to 5 wireworms per m2 for humid soils and 1 to 3 wireworms per m2 for arid areas. This paper describes the methods of predicting the appearance of wireworms, i.e. the methods of estimating the risk of their attack. Methods of fighting wireworms are also described and the review of active substances and pesticides registered in Croatia for this purpose is given in this paper.

Keywords

wireworms; decision boundary; prediction methods; suppression methods

Hrčak ID:

163427

URI

https://hrcak.srce.hr/163427

Publication date:

16.11.2009.

Article data in other languages: croatian

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