Carbosulfan Seed Dressing, Sowing Date, and Genotype Effects on Maize Stalk Borer

Abstract

The effects of seed dressing maize with carbosulfan (Marshal 35 ST), sowing date, and maize genotype on damage caused by the maize stalk borer (MSB) Busseolafusca (Fuller) were evaluated at two locations during the 1996 crop season. The trial was laid out in a 2 x 3 x 2 factorial randomized complete block design in two replications. Seed dressing with carbosulfan (Marshal 35 TR) had no significant effect (P=0.05) on grain yield. Highly significant grain yield differences (P=0.0000) were observed for sowing date, location, genotype, and sowing date by location effects. Early sowing had a yield advantage of more than 58.2% over late sowing. Sowing date also had significant effects on the number o f borers per plant, percent infestation, and number of holes per plant; number of cobs per plant was not affected by sowing date. Genotype effects on borers per plant, holes per plant and cobs per plant were significant. Seed dressing had no significant effect on any of these parameters. Interaction effects between sowing date and location were significant for borers per plant (P=0.0463) and percent infestation (P=0.0000). Results of these experiments suggest that seed dressing with carbosulfan does not give effective control of MSB.