Field efficacy, adult emergence, and yield evaluation of the corn rootworm transgenic events in Vorceed™ Enlist® corn and SmartStax® PRO hybrid corn against corn rootworms (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae)

Western corn rootworms (WCR; Diabrotica virgifera virgifera LeConte) and northern corn rootworm (NCR; Diabrotica barberi Smith & Lawrence) are prominent pests of corn production in the US Corn Belt. Yield and efficacy studies were conducted at 33 locations from 2020 to 2023 in the U.S.; while corn rootworm beetle emergence studies were conducted at 12 locations from 2022 to 2023 on corn hybrids containing belowground traits for the control of WCR and NCR. Treatments included only the CRW transgenic events contained in the following products: 1) Control “no CRW traits”, 2) Vorceed Enlist Corn “DP-004114-3 x MON-87411-9”, and 3) SmartStax PRO “DAS-59122-7 x MON-87411-9”. Analyses of root injury revealed that DP-004114-3 x MON-87411-9 and DAS-59122-7 x MON-87411-9 exhibited similar performance, with root injury ratings of 0.26 and 0.25, respectively, on the Iowa State University 0–3 node-injury scale. In contrast, the control showed significantly higher root injury of 1.57 NIS. Over multiple locations and years, the CRW transgenic events in DP-004114-3 x MON-87411-9 and DAS-59122-7 x MON-87411-9 demonstrated a significant yield advantage of 27.7 and 25.7 bu/acre, respectively, over the unprotected control. DP-004114-3 x MON-87411-9 reduced CRW beetle emergence by 90.4 % compared to the control. The CRW transgenic events in Vorceed Enlist and SmartStax PRO, novel event combinations both with RNAi technology, will provide effective new tools for management of the corn rootworm pest complex. • RNAi + Bt hybrids provided consistent root protection across 33 locations. • Yield gains of 25.7–27.7 bu/a observed for RNAi + Bt hybrids over unprotected control. • DP-004114-3 × MON-87411-9 reduced CRW emergence by 90.4 % vs control. • Monitoring + BMPs support durability; Bt + RNAi pyramids are one key tactic.