P3654
Brown Stink Bug Management in Early Vegetative Stage Field Corn in Mississippi
Biology/Ecology
- Brown stink bugs overwinter as adults in protected sites such as crop residues, ditch banks, wooded areas, and other areas.
- They become active in late February and March when temperatures begin to rise.
- These insects will feed on early vegetative stage corn, often hidden under residues or soil cracks (Figure 1).
Brown Stink Bugs in Early Vegetative Stage Corn
- Brown stink bugs will be more concentrated around field edges, especially those edges close to overwintering sites.
- Plant damage symptomatology includes a linear row of holes in leaves (Figure 2), plant stunting (Figure 3), plant tillering (Figure 4), and “dead-heart” or plant death (Figure 5).
- Reductions in yield of individual plants can range from 28.4 to 65.6 percent.
- Damage can occur on plants consecutively in a row or randomly scattered across multiple rows.
- When 10 percent or more of plants are damaged, yield is reduced. However, that rate of plant damage rarely occurs across an entire field.
Scouting
- Begin scouting at the V1 growth stage and monitor weekly through the V6 growth stage.
- Concentrate efforts around field edges and overwintering sites (Figure 6).
- A partial plant sampling method (focusing primarily on the base of plants) is the best method to estimate population densities.
- Detecting the presence of stink bugs in seedling corn is difficult, so many samples may be required.
Control
- Threshold—Recent research suggests that the greatest yield losses from stink bugs in corn are from infestations that occur from VE to V4.
- Treat corn shorter than 2 feet tall when 10 percent of plants have one or more stink bugs present.






Foliar insecticide1 |
Amount of formulation per acre |
1 gallon or 1 pound dry will treat |
Efficacy2 |
β-cyfluthrin (P) |
1.6 to 2.8 oz |
80 to 45.7 acres |
6 |
β-cyfluthrin (P) |
1.6 to 2.8 oz |
80 to 45.7 acres |
6 |
cyfluthrin (P) |
4.6 to 2.8 oz |
80 to 45.7 acres |
6 |
bifenthrin (P) |
2.1 to 6.4 oz |
61 to 20 acres |
7 |
Ζ-cypermethrin (P) |
2.72 to 4.0 oz |
32 to 12.4 acres |
6 |
1For specific products, refer to the current Insect Control Guide for Agronomic Crops.
2Efficacy is based on a rating scale of 0 to 10, with 0 being no control and 10 being 100 percent control.
Publication 3654 (POD-08-24)
Reviewed by Tyler Towles, PhD, Assistant Professor, Delta Research and Extension Center. Written by Will Hardman, former Graduate Student; Jeffrey Gore, PhD, Professor and Head; Don Cook, PhD, Associate Research Professor; Angus Catchot, PhD, Extension Director; Whitney Crow, PhD, Associate Professor; and Erick Larson, PhD, Extension/Research Professor.