Integrated pest management for maize, in plain terms

Integrated pest management starts before the crop. Clean field borders, destruction of old crop residue that harbours borer larvae, a sowing date that dodges the worst of the pest cycle, and a healthy, vigorous stand all reduce pressure before any product is involved.

The second layer is monitoring. Walk the field twice a week and look at the whorl, the stem base and the underside of leaves. Window-pane damage and moist frass in the whorl tell you a borer is active now; old dry damage does not. Acting on what the crop is doing this week, rather than on a fixed calendar, is most of the benefit of IPM.

The third layer is a considered spray. Choose an active cleared for the pest, treat at the stage where the larva is exposed rather than deep inside the stem, get the spray into the whorl where the pest actually sits, and rotate modes of action across the season so you are not training a resistant population.

Done together, these steps usually mean fewer sprays with better results — which is both cheaper for the farmer and better for the field over the long run.