How to Get Rid of Bugs on Corn Stalks
Eliminating bugs and other pests from corn stalks is dependent on whether you are operating a backyard garden versus a large-scale operation. An extensive monoculture of corn may be more vulnerable to insects than a mixed plot of corn planted with beneficial companion plants. Either way, you can perform various preventative and control measures to grow and maintain healthy corn stalks. Examples of insects that attack the roots, stems, leaves or actual corn kernels are wireworms, cutworms, seed corn beetles, white grubs, corn rootworms, corn billbugs and European corn borers. Does this Spark an idea?
Things You'll Need
- Mechanical or hand tiller
- Thermometer
- Manure
- Plant collars
- Resistant seeds
- Companion plants
Instructions
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Rotate your corn crops every year if you are operating a large-scale farm. Plant corn in a field between 800 and 1,000 feet away from the area you planted corn the previous year. This will eliminate the attack of pest insects that have overwintered in the previous corn field. Alternate corn with crops such as alfalfa, clover, oats and hay.
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Till the soil with a mechanical or hand device to pull up weeds and loosen the soil before planting corn seeds in the spring. This will expose potential insect eggs and larvae, and make them vulnerable to bird and beneficial insect predation.
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Remove all weeds and leaf debris from the soil as certain insect pests, such as cornstalk borers, thrive in weedy environments.
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Plant corn seed as early as possible so that young seedlings can develop before insects such as corn billbugs attack, and corn can be harvested before bugs like fall army worms invade. Corn can be planted when the soil at a depth of 2 inches is consistently 55 degrees Fahrenheit for several weeks.
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Use hybrid corn seeds that have early harvest dates, such as 112 days or less, and that are resistant to certain insect pests, such as those that contain a gene from Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt).
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Make plant collars out of cardboard or milk cartons and place them around young plants to protect corn stalks against bugs like cutworms.
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Plant beneficial plants next to corn to increase corn vigor, to attract predatorial insects that will attack pests and to deter detrimental bugs. For example, peas or beans planted with corn will fix nitrogen in the soil, a nutrient that corn needs in abundance. Pumpkins planted next to corn will crowd out weeds. Dill will attract predatory wasps and hoverflies, geraniums will deter Japanese beetles and radishes will discourage corn borers.
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Consider using natural products, such as diatomaceous earth and pyrethrum, if you choose to apply pesticides.
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Tips & Warnings
As an alternative to tilling, cover the soil with a layer of animal manure, such as half cow and half horse manure; the manure will help prevent the invasion of weeds and thus certain bugs. Nitrogen may need to be supplemented.
References
- NC State University, IPM North Carolina: Pests of Corn/Sorghum
- NC State University: Organic Insect Pest Management - Field Corn
- United States Department of Agriculture: Rotations for Livestock Feed
- Penn State Agronomy Guide 2011-2012: Corn Pest Management
- Texas A&M University: Using Dairy Manure Compost for Corn Production
- Mississippi State University: Corn in Mississippi
Resources
- Photo Credit Jupiterimages/Photos.com/Getty Images
