Effect of sowing dates on the populations of three major insect pests and associated natural enemies throughout the growth stages of maize plants

Abstract

In Egypt, maize is an important crop that is attacked by various pests. In the present study, the effect of maize planting dates on the populations of insect pests and their natural enemies were investigated throughout the growth stages of maize plants. The maize planting dates were at the beginning of May, Jun, and July in the 2019 season and were repeated in the 2020 season. Samples were collected weekly to determine the populations of the insect pests, Limothrips cerealium (Haliday, 1836), Rhopalosiphum maidis (Fitch, 1856), and Sesamia cretica Lederer, 1857 and their natural predators. For the first sowing date, the infestation percentage of L. cerealium and S. cretica were most substantial, especially in the seedling and precorn formation stages. For the third sowing date, the number of R. maidis was most substantial, especially in the corn formation stage. Three predators were associated with these insect species; of these predators, Coccinella undecimpunctata (Linnaeus, 1758), Scymnus interruptus (Goeze, 1777), and Chrysoperla carnea (Stephens, 1836) were observed at the highest numbers during all sowing dates. A highly significant correlation existed between populations of S. interruptus and the three insects across the two seasons. Data suggest that the percentage of thrips, aphids, and stem borers infestations can be minimized by planting maize varieties in June.

Biodiversity, Seasonal Abundance, and Population Dynamics Assessment of Coccinellidae (Coleoptera) from Maize Crops

“…The 4 th instar and adults (both male and female) are reported to attack equally on leaf aphids and their supremacy leads to the efficacy of pest suppression in field crops (Cabral et al, 2009). In maize crops, C. undecimpuncta is reported to be the most abundant during the month of May and the least abundant in June (Mahmoud et al, 2021). Cheilomenus sexmaculata (Fabricius, 1781), was the third most abundant species (10.98%) during both cropping seasons and similar results were also reported from other cereal crops in Punjab, Pakistan (Bodlah et al, 2021).…”

The effect of integrated pest management on Scirpophaga innotata population and natural enemies on rice field in South Sulawesi, Indonesia

“…Manipulation of sowing time can cause harm to pests which are susceptible to extreme air or water temperature, heavy rainfall, non-preferred crop growth stage, and abundance of natural enemies. Time for sowing and planting stage of maize are among the most important factors affecting thrips, aphids, and stem borer (Mahmoud et al 2021).…”