Management of Wireworms

Wireworms are major pests of crops including maize, wheat and potatoes. Several chemical pesticides used to successfully manage Wireworms in the past are being phased out because of their ecotoxicity. Wireworms are troublemakers especially in organic farming, where granular soil insecticides are not available. The good news comes from Entomopathogenic fungi (EPF) research showing that […]

Wireworms are major pests of crops including maize, wheat and potatoes. Several chemical pesticides used to successfully manage Wireworms in the past are being phased out because of their ecotoxicity. Wireworms are troublemakers especially in organic farming, where granular soil insecticides are not available. The good news comes from Entomopathogenic fungi (EPF) research showing that EPF are successful in controlling Wireworms. In this year’s potato trial in Slovenia the Agricultural Institute of Slovenia used EPF to control Wireworms. You can read more about the management of Wireworms in the article Bioaugmentation of Entomopathogenic Fungi for Sustainable Agriotes Larvae (Wireworms) Management in Maize, available at the following link: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpls.2020.535005/full?report=reader.