Corn rootworm management webinar is March 26

AMES – Farmers and other agricultural professionals who work with corn who may be interested — following a previous corn crop — can attend a corn rootworm management webinar, 10 a.m. March 26, hosted by Iowa State University Extension and Outreach, the University of Illinois Extension and the University of Wisconsin Extension.

“The strong winds of last summer’s storms caused damage to many corn fields. Inspections of those fields revealed that many continuous corn fields had roots severely damaged by corn rootworms,” said Virgil Schmitt, field agronomist with ISU Extension and Outreach.

“Those damaged roots have caused many growers, input suppliers and independent crop consultants to re-evaluate the corn rootworm management strategies in those fields.”

Webinar topics include a background and a research update on corn rootworms by Erin Hodgson, professor and extension specialist in entomology at Iowa State.

Other topics will include Bt resistance and corn rootworm management by Nick J. Seiter, assistant professor and field crop entomologist, University of Illinois; and diversifying corn rootworm management to delay Bt resistance by Bryan Jensen, entomologist with the Integrated Pest Management Program at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

This webinar is free and open to the public and will be offered through Zoom. While there is no charge to attend, registration is required and can be completed by visiting https://go.wisc.edu/p8c11n.

After registering, participants will receive an email with instructions and a link for joining the webinar. Participants may join through their web browser, mobile phone or tablet.

They will need to download a free app prior to joining. Participants should join the webinar at least 15 minutes in advance to ensure connections and software are working correctly.

For more information, questions or assistance with registration, contact Schmitt at 563-263-5701 or vschmitt@isu.edu.