Impact of 3 control methods on larval European com borer, Ostrinia nubilalis Hübner, dynamics on com, Zea mays (L.), was evaluated under field conditions at Versailles, France. The control methods studied were a chemical insecticide, Beauveria bassiana Vuillemin (Deuteromycotina: Hyphomycete), and a transgenic com hybrid. The experimental study showed that B. bassiana control was similar to chemical control. The transgenic hybrid control was always very high throughout the com cycle studied. A substantial decrease of B. bassiana and chemical control efficacy was observed with an increase in the delay between treatment and infestation. The complementary studies of B. bassiana persistence, control impact, and pathogen contact showed control-larval behavior interactions, which could explain this decrease in efficacy. To take into account the main factors that condition control efficacy, a modular and mechanistic model was proposed to describe larval dynamic and control impact. The proposed control model made it possible to integrate O. nubilalis dynamics, and thus to describe the time response of control.
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Labatte et al. (1996) studied this question.