Greenhouse studies show corn rootworm has an appetite for foxtails, other weeds

GOLDEN VALLEY, Minn. – February 26, 2008 – More farmers are relying on Bt corn to stop rootworms before they cause yield-robbing damage. Rootworms are most vulnerable to Bt toxins during the first instar, when larvae are under 1/8 inch long. But what would happen if insects fed on something else during this stage? Say they chewed on weeds, for instance, and grew large enough to withstand Bt toxins? …more