Rapid Dissipation of Carbofuran as a Limiting Factor in Corn Rootworm (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae) Control in Fields with Histories of Continous Carbofuran Use1

Abstract

The persistence of carbofuran (applied as Furadan 10G) at two rates was studied under field and laboratory conditions in five soils with different insecticide use and control histories of corn rootworm, Diabrotica virgifera Le Conte and D. longicornis (Say). Higher percentages of rootworm control in the field plots coincided with recoveries of larger amounts of carbofuran ca. 1 month after insecticide application. Carbofuran persistence was shortest during field and laboratory experiments in those soils characterized by both carbofuran use histories and rootworm control problems. Rapid dissipation of carbofuran under field conditions was attributed to inherent soil properties such as adapted microbial populations or differences in rainfall.