At the Laboratory Field of Biotechnical Faculty in Ljubljana, at the end of April 2018, two maize hybrids were sown – 'SY Dartona' in 'NK Timic', where we monitored the seasonal dynamics of the occurrence of five insect pests: Western corn rootworm (Diabrotica virgifera virgifera [Le Conte]), catchfly (Agriotes spp.), European corn borer (Ostrinia nubilalis [Hübner]), striped flea beetles from Phyllotreta genus and seedcorn maggot (Delia platura [Meigen]). Maize was sown in a block experimetn with three repetitions. For each hybrid, we had two treatments: control (untreated grains) and grains, which were sprayed with Rhizoflo Premium before sowing (product of this biological fertilizer is developed by CKC Company from Argentina). The occurrence of insect pests was monitored in 10-day intervals during the experiment. The Western corn rootworm appeared from middle of June until harvest, catchfly from the end of April to the middle of August, European corn borer from middle of August until harvest, striped flea beetles from late April until harvest, and seedcorn maggot from late April until early September. During the experiment, we weighed the roots of maize twice (June 28th and August 30th) in individual treatments and parcels. The average root mass in the 'NK Timic' hybrid was typically greater in treatment with treated grains (101.9±8.4 g and 320.9±38.8 g) than in control (72.7±5.7 g and 310.5±35.2 g) at both weighing periods. Maize was harvested on September 20th and grains from different treatments were weighed. We found that the average yield of corn grains in both hybrids was typically higher in treatments with Rhizoflo Premium ('SY Dartona' 4.3 t/ha and 'NK Timic' 6.3 t/ha).
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