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Review
. 2021 Jan 28;12(2):112.
doi: 10.3390/insects12020112.

The Use of Insecticides to Manage the Western Corn Rootworm, Diabrotica virgifera virgifera, LeConte: History, Field-Evolved Resistance, and Associated Mechanisms

Lance J Meinke  1 , Dariane Souza  2 , Blair D Siegfried  2
Affiliations
Review

The Use of Insecticides to Manage the Western Corn Rootworm, Diabrotica virgifera virgifera, LeConte: History, Field-Evolved Resistance, and Associated Mechanisms

Lance J Meinke et al. Insects. .

Abstract

The western corn rootworm, Diabrotica virgifera virgifera LeConte (Dvv) is a significant insect pest of maize in the United States (U.S.). This paper reviews the history of insecticide use in Dvv management programs, Dvv adaptation to insecticides, i.e., field-evolved resistance and associated mechanisms of resistance, plus the current role of insecticides in the transgenic era. In the western U.S. Corn Belt where continuous maize is commonly grown in large irrigated monocultures, broadcast-applied soil or foliar insecticides have been extensively used over time to manage annual densities of Dvv and other secondary insect pests. This has contributed to the sequential occurrence of Dvv resistance evolution to cyclodiene, organophosphate, carbamate, and pyrethroid insecticides since the 1950s. Mechanisms of resistance are complex, but both oxidative and hydrolytic metabolism contribute to organophosphate, carbamate, and pyrethroid resistance facilitating cross-resistance between insecticide classes. History shows that Dvv insecticide resistance can evolve quickly and may persist in field populations even in the absence of selection. This suggests minimal fitness costs associated with Dvv resistance. In the transgenic era, insecticides function primarily as complementary tools with other Dvv management tactics to manage annual Dvv densities/crop injury and resistance over time.

Keywords: Diabrotica virgifera virgifera; chemical control; insecticide metabolism; insecticide resistance; pest management.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
(A) Adult Diabrotica virgifera virgifera LeConte; (B) example of severe root injury from Diabrotica virgifera virgifera LeConte (Dvv) larval feeding that can occur when Dvv larval density is high (right) versus uninjured root (left); photos by L. J. Meinke.
Figure 2
Figure 2
The agricultural region in the midwestern U.S. that is a major producer of maize is called the Corn Belt. This figure shows the major maize grain production area within this region, a Dvv insecticide use/field-evolved resistance timeline associated with continuous maize, and the geographic location of states Nebraska and Kansas where Dvv resistance to multiple insecticides has occurred. Maize grain production area is based on USDA-NASS 2015–2019 data [42,43].
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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