Il caso della diabrotica del mais

Maize cultivation is a lucky example of the effects of globalization. Nevertheless the increased speed in transports has also allowed the exchange of pests like European Corn Borer and more recently the western corn rootworm Diabrotica virgifera virgifera Le- Conte. The latter is an important example of the effect that cultural practices, like the monosuccession, can quickly favor a usually not dangerous phytophagous, making it a key pest for the crop. The authors, making a review of literature and using original data, describe the biology, the behaviour, the economic importance, the monitoring techniques and the control and/or eradication strategies that can be applied against this pest that it is not yet distributed in every European corn growing area and it is still considered a quarantine pest also in Italy