Effect of Disk Harrowing on Subsequent Emergence of Hessian fly (Diptera: Cecidomyiidae) Adults from Wheat Stubble

Conical cloth traps were used to compare emergence of Hessian fly, Mayetiola destructor (Say), adults from three land preparation regimes: 1) wheat stubble disked; 2) stubble not disked, but burned; 3) stubble neither disked nor burned (control). Burning had no effect on emergence in the one experiment in which it was tested. Mean emergence in disked plots was approx. 60% less than in control plots. However, this difference was significant in only one of four experiments. Implications for Hessian fly management within a wheat-soybean double-cropping system are discussed.