Maize Pests and Their Natural Enemies in the North-West of Türkiye

Abstract

Maize is one of the most significant cereal crops in the world, and insect pests cause the highest economic loss. The objective of this study was to assess the level of insect pests and their natural enemies during 2020 and 2022 in the maize fields of Düzce and Sakarya, Türkiye. We performed weekly surveys from the vegetative growth stage of maize to harvest from April through November. A hundred plants were selected with regular and irregular samplings from each field. In addition, light traps and pheromone traps were placed in regularly sampled fields. To detect overwintering larvae, the stalks left in the field after the harvest were cut just above the soil. In the maize fields, a total of 13 pest species from six families in four orders, along with 19 natural enemies from eight families in five orders, were identified. Ostrinia nubilalis Hbn. (Lepidoptera: Crambidae) was found as the primary pest, followed by Helicoverpa armigera Hbn. and Mythimna unipuncta Haw. (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae). Meteorus pendulus Müller (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) was a new record for the East Marmara and Western Black Sea regions and a new host record in Türkiye. Larval parasitoids of M. unipuncta, Nemoraea pellucida Meigen, and Pales pavida Meigen (Diptera: Tachinidae) represent new host records for Türkiye. Among the predators, Orius minutus L. (Hemiptera: Anthocoridae) and coccinellids showed an especially notable common in the maize fields of both provinces.