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Corn Bugs: Stink Bugs

Categories: GROWING, CORN
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As the weather continues to heat up, be on guard for insects, particularly stink bugs. Some cultural practices such as no-tillage fields and a soybean-wheat-corn sequence can flare stink bugs, and they feed on a variety of weeds and crops. 

Two of the more damaging types of stink bugs are brown stink bugs and green stink bugs. Brown stink bugs are somewhat flat, shield-shaped and brown with yellow undersides, as pictured above. Green stink bugs have a similar shape but are light green with black bands on the antennae.

Corn Damage
Stink bug damage is most prevalent in small corn under the V5 stage, with several plants in a row showing damage. Corn plants will appear stunted and deformed. Plants beyond the V5 stage can have irregular stalk growth and twisting leaf tissue emerging from the whorl.

Feeding injury appears as a series of identical holes with yellow halos around them, caused by the stink bug feeding on the leaf when it was rolled up.  At later growth stages, stink bugs will also feed on the ear and can damage developing kernels, potentially resulting in deformed and lost kernels.

Stink Bug Management
Although there aren’t any set economic thresholds for managing stink bugs in corn, several universities have established treatment guidelines. The University of Nebraska-Lincoln recommends treatment if you find 1 bug per every 4 plants before pollination, and/or 1 bug per 2 plants during grain fill. 

Generally, if you’re finding field damage and increasing populations of large nymphs and adults, an insecticide treatment such as Warrior II with Zeon Technology® may be necessary. Warrior II with Zeon Technology delivers the combination of consistently reliable performance, modern formulation technology, and fast knockdown with long residual for and residual control of brown and green stink bug. Contact your Golden Harvest Seed Advisor with questions or for additional agronomic insights.

Photos are either the property of Syngenta or used under agreement.

Syngenta hereby disclaims liability for third-party websites.
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