Infestation of European Corn Borer (Lepidoptera: Crambidae) in Sweet Corn as Predicted by Time of Oviposition

Oviposition by European corn borer, Ostrinia nubilalis Hübn, was examined in relation to sweet corn development from 1994 to 1996, and related to harvest infestation levels. Stepwise multiple regression and linear regression showed that 79-87% of the variability of larvae per ear or proportion of ears infested at harvest was explained by the number of egg masses laid from about anthesis to brown silk stages. The analyses indicated three periods of oviposition with differing implications to harvest infestation level: (1) eggs laid from 784-337 degree-days (DD) before harvest (before green tassel) had very low correlation to harvest infestation; (2) eggs laid from 336-169 DD before harvest (green tassel to green silk) were highly correlated with harvest infestation; and (3) eggs laid during the last 168 DD of sweet corn development (green silk to harvest) had low to moderate correlation with harvest infestation. The 336-169 DD period corresponded to the anthesis to brown silk growth stages, which was ≈14-21 d long, and would be the likely period for optimum chemical control. The results of this study are compared with existing recommendations from the midwestern and northeastern U.S., and potential explanations for the patterns observed are discussed.