Joanne Whalen, Extension IPM Specialist; jwhalen@udel.edu
With the warm winter conditions, we have observed flies actively laying eggs earlier and for a longer period of time. Adult flies are active in temperatures down to the mid 40s so it very likely that maggot populations could be higher in early planted field corn. Conditions that favor egg laying activity include decaying cover crops, high organic matter, freshly plowed fields, and/or manure applications. Control options include commercial applied seed treatments, or soil insecticides. It should be noted that seed treatment labels indicate that they only provide early season protection of seedlings against injury from seed corn maggots.