Stalk borer is an occasional pest of corn in Iowa, but some fields may experience persistent stalk borer issues. Stalk borers usually infest plants adjacent to grassy or weedy areas, such as ditches, waterways, and fence rows. Scouting for stalk borer relies on predicting activity based on degree day accumulation and looking for larvae. Timing insecticide applications while larvae are actively moving to corn is critical to ensure proper management since no rescue treatments are available.
An encyclopedia article details stalk borer identification, biology, plant injury, scouting, and management. This includes how to track growing degree days and a sampling plan for larvae.
Stalk borer encyclopedia article
The Iowa Environmental Mesonet hosts a Pest Forecasting page where growing degree days for stalk borer development may be tracked.
Annually, scouting alerts for Iowa are posted on the Integrated Crop Management News page. Throughout the growing season, additional updates on stalk borer activity may be posted on ICM News or on the Integrated Crop Management Blog page.
If you would like to receive timely alerts of stalk borer activity in Iowa via text messaging, sign up for the Iowa Pest Alert Network!