The International Working Group on Ostrinia and other Maize Pests (IWGO) is a well-established, large Global-IOBC Working Group, which deals with integrated pest management options for all maize insect pests and pest resistance problems. The group is open to all scientists who are interested in working within an international organization dedicated to issues and activities related to maize pests. All the IWGO Conferences and meetings held to date have provided a valuable international platform for the exchange of research, experiences, and ideas on the integrated management of Ostrinia, and other maize pests through the use of chemical, cultural, and biological control measures. Based on these activities, IWGO is highly recognized by different stakeholders as an international and independent expert group.
The original idea of IWGO was to exchange inbred lines within the group and test these lines for resistance against the most important maize pest throughout the world, the European Corn Borer, Ostrinia nubilalis. The influence of other pests on maize became more and more important over time and colleagues from Asia included problems dealing with the Asian Corn Borer, Ostrina furnacalis, and southern European colleagues brought research work concerning Sesamia nonagrioides into the group. The occurrence of the Western Corn Rootworm, Diabrotica virgifera virgifera, in Europe in 1992 became a further topic for discussion. Additionally, Elateridae (wireworms) management options are discussed within the group.
Over the last 2+ decades, IWGO has published several technical publications and IWGO Conference Proceedings, recently always published as a special issue of the Journal of Applied Entomology. In 1981, an "IWGO - NEWSLETTER" was established by the former Convenor Harald BERGER, which at the time was an excellent way to link the members and to establish a permanent record of the activities of the working group, distribute information provided by working group members, and to publish the abstracts of papers presented at the various meetings and conferences. This kind of communication is now carried out via this IWGO website, which is very convenient as we are also able to archive all of our material so that we have a permanent record of it.
Dr. Ulrich KUHLMANN, Convenor IWGO
Dr. Thomas W. SAPPINGTON, Co-Convenor IWGO
Prof. WANG Zhenying, Co-Convenor IWGO
