Seedcorn Maggot in Early Planted Corn

Over the past two days, I have scouted a dozen, of were supposed to be soybean fields, planted between April 24th and May 1st. What I found were near barren fields with a handful of soybeans here and there. Nearly every single missing plant I dug up either had live maggots, or signs of their feeding. The few fields that were ‘better’ were still missing half to two thirds of their populations. The seedlings that did sprout were often damaged and chewed up.

Eleven of the twelve fields had corn as the previous crop, one was half corn and half turf. One of the fields received manure. A corn field adjacent to one of the soybean fields most affected has very little maggot damage, with only one maggot found of the dozen or so missing plants dug up. The soybean seeds were treated with Imidacloprid.

According to David DeGolyer, “Our state legislators, DEC and Cornell Ag leaders need to know the impact this pest can and will cause in our area. Mike Stanyard plans to scout the field near the home farm around May 23rd. Our staff will continue to closely monitor the situation to find solutions to this emerging issue.”