Preventative insecticides reduce seedling injury, but do not increase yield in Bt and non-Bt corn grown in the Mid-Atlantic

BACKGROUND: Field corn production systems rely on preventative insect management tactics, including hybrids expressing plant incorporated protectants that are treated with neonicotinoid seed treatments, and sometimes in-furrow pyrethroids. While effective seedling pest control can be crucial because of the cost of replanting, these treatments target many of the same pests and may add unnecessary costs for growers. Further, seedling pests in the Mid-Atlantic tend to be sporadic, and preventative insecticides may negatively impact natural enemies. To better understand the value of common preventative tactics, we evaluated pest pressure and compared a neonicotinoid seed treatment (clothianidin) and an in-furrow pyrethroid (bifenthrin) in Bt and non-Bt corn hybrids. RESULTS: In Bt hybrids, the in-furrow pyrethroid did not decrease pest injury, increase stand, or increase yield, while the neonicotinoid seed treatment decreased pest injury and increased stand but did not increase yield. In a ..., , , ## Preventative insecticides reduce seedling injury, but do not increase yield in Bt and non-Bt corn grown in the Mid-Atlantic [https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.mcvdnck9h](https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.mcvdnck9h) ## Description of the data and file structure These data sets contain the data collected in a three year (2020-2022) field study across three research farms in Maryland, United States. In the study, 2 insecticide treatments (a neonicotinoid seed treatment and an in-furrow pyrethroid treatment) were compared to an untreated control in Bt and non-Bt field corn. The treatments were each replicated three times in each corn hybrid in a Latin-square design. We sampled early-season performance (plant stand, stunted plants, plant height) and insect damage, damage in the mid- (whorl stage/R2) and late-seasons (ear stage), and stand and stunted plants at the end of the season and collected yield data. We also collected data on migratory lepidopteran pests (corn earworm, fall armyworm, an...BACKGROUND：大田玉米生产体系依赖预防性害虫管理策略，包括搭载植株内置保护剂的杂交品种配合新烟碱类（neonicotinoid）种子处理剂，部分场景下还会辅以沟施拟除虫菊酯类药剂。尽管由于补种成本高昂，高效的苗期害虫防治至关重要，但上述药剂靶标多类相同害虫，反而可能为种植者增添不必要的投入成本。此外，大西洋中部地区的苗期害虫发生往往具有间歇性，预防性杀虫剂还可能对天敌种群产生负面影响。为明确常用预防性防治策略的实际价值，本研究针对转Bt基因（Bt）与非转Bt基因玉米杂交品种，评估了害虫发生压力，并对比了新烟碱类种子处理剂（噻虫胺，clothianidin）与沟施拟除虫菊酯类药剂（联苯菊酯，bifenthrin）的防治效果。 RESULTS：在转Bt基因玉米杂交品种中，沟施拟除虫菊酯类药剂未降低害虫为害程度、未提升保苗率或籽粒产量；而新烟碱类种子处理剂虽可降低害虫为害程度并提升保苗率，但未能提升籽粒产量。在……[原文截断]。 ## 预防性杀虫剂可减轻苗期为害，但在大西洋中部地区种植的转Bt与非转Bt基因玉米中未提升籽粒产量 [https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.mcvdnck9h](https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.mcvdnck9h) ## 数据集与文件结构说明 本数据集涵盖2020-2022年为期三年的大田试验所采集的数据，试验地点为美国马里兰州的三个科研农场。试验针对转Bt基因与非转Bt基因大田玉米，设置2种杀虫剂处理组（新烟碱类种子处理剂与沟施拟除虫菊酯类药剂），并以未施药对照组作为参照，采用拉丁方设计，每个玉米杂交品种的各处理均设置3次重复。本研究调查了玉米生育前期的生长表现（保苗率、矮化植株比例、株高）与虫害情况，生育中期（心叶期/R2）和后期（穗期）的虫害为害情况，以及试验末期的保苗率与矮化植株比例，并采集了籽粒产量数据。此外，本研究还采集了迁飞性鳞翅目害虫（玉米穗虫、草地贪夜蛾及……[原文截断]）的相关数据。