–by Dr. Jeff Whitworth and Dr. Holly Schwarting
Western corn rootworm development seems to be progressing rapidly. In north central Kansas, corn plants have been struggling to germinate and grow up until last week. But, the rootworm larvae in the soil seem to be doing well. So, these smaller root systems will be more impacted by this rootworm feeding, thus stressing these small plants, and in some cases, even killing them. Corn rootworm larvae were first detected on 17 May this year.
