The western corn rootworm damages corn plants by weakening the root system, making infested plants easy to pull out of the ground. The damage is caused primarily by the larvae, but also by the beetles themselves. The full extent of the damage only becomes apparent approximately five years after the initial infestation.
To monitor and document the spread of the western corn rootworm in Styria, the Styrian government's Plant Protection Department is tasked with setting up pheromone traps in cornfields during the summer months and checking them regularly. Although the western corn rootworm is mainly found south of St. Michael, Leoben, and Bruck an der Mur in Styria, infestations must also be monitored in the Enns Valley. The Raumberg-Gumpenstein Agricultural Research Centre (LFZ) provides administrative support to the Styrian government by managing four sites between Trieben and Gröbming from its Institute of Biology. The weekly results are forwarded to the Plant Protection Department in Graz, and further measures would be initiated if a beetle were to appear.
Pheromone trap
HBLFA Raumberg-Gumpenstein