A new study from North Carolina State University shows that soil temperature can be used to effectively monitor and predict the spread of corn caterpillar (Helicoverpa zea), an important pest that devastates corn, cotton, soybeans, peppers, tomatoes and other vegetables. The ability to better monitor the pest and make predictions about where it will appear can help farmers control the pest more effectively, which would reduce the financial and environmental impacts of pesticide use.

The researchers combined historical soil temperature data with long-term monitoring data of the corn caterpillar and information on how the pest survives cold conditions in a laboratory environment to better understand the "success of winter" or how well the pest can survive underground during the colder winter months.

Greater success in winter can expand areas where the plague can live and thrive, researchers say, because the plague can migrate over long distances. Generally, greater hibernation success at northernlatitudes increases the potential for crop damage by this northerner pest. Climate change also affects the success of winter. "As the climate changes, hibernation zones are likely to move north," said Anders Huseth, assistant professor of entomology at NC State and another co-author of the paper.

"We would now like to present a better prediction tool for this pest, along with a risk prediction model, to provide producers with better information about pest spread. Success here could reduce costs for farmers and pesticides in the environment," he concludes.

Source: Agrolink