Western corn rootworm can destroy cornfields – and profits – but populations of the “billion-dollar bug” have stopped responding to insecticides and the genetically modified corn hybrids designed to resist insect attacks. But there may be hope. In a new study, University of Illinois researchers have uncovered the genetic basis of resistance to western corn […]

Researchers at the University of Missouri have discovered the mechanisms corn plants use to combat the western corn rootworm. How did they find it? By using advanced nuclear methods, of course. “The western corn rootworm is a voracious pest,” said Richard Ferrieri, a research professor in the MU Interdisciplinary Plant Group, and an investigator at […]