Gerhard BOTZENHARDT¹ and Hansjörg IMGRABEN^2
1 Landesanstalt für Pflanzenschutz, Stuttgart
² Regierungspräsidium Freiburg

Baden-Württemberg is a significant maize production area in Germany. Maize for silage as well as grain is produced. Furthermore there is along the Rhine valley in the south and the south-west of the country maize seed breeding and maize seed multiplication. Maize production area covered around 132.000 hectares in the year 2000. More and more maize is cultivated in a one-crop-system.

This is why Baden-Württemberg – with regards to Diabrotica – has been declared as a „high risk area“ by the Federal Biological Research Centre for Agriculture and Forestry.

According to the present Diabrotica situation in eastern Europe it is considered that Diabrotica will be imported along the Danube, first to Bavaria and then to Baden-Württemberg.

If the presence of Diabrotica in a region is detected early enough, there is a good chance to eradicate the insect, as it was done in Italy during 1998/99.

Therefore Baden-Württemberg started in 1997 a monitoring programme with the aim to detect Diabrotica as soon as possible if it appears in the country.

In 1997 in maize seed breeding and maize seed multiplication areas Cucurbita bait traps were established near Stockach, Freiburg and Lörrach in the south-west of the country.

In 1998 Hungarian pheromone traps were used in 16 places along the motorway between Bale and Karlsruhe (A 5) and – because of the activities of German military forces in former Yugoslavia – near military installations such as barracks.

In 1999 and 2000 Hungarian pheromone traps and MCA sticky traps from the University of Giessen in 1999 were established in 30 locations, mainly along motorways, near airports, near military installations, and near places were large quantities of commodities are handled.

Fortunately in all these years no Diabrotica species were caught.