Pioneer, Syngenta and Dow Agro-Sciences all began to sell "stacked" or pyramid corn seed designed to slow the development of resistance. These products combined traits to increase effectiveness, however, so many of these traits are failing that soon they will run out of ingredients to stack. A new bacterial gene had been discovered by researchers that will kill rootworms, but it is not expected to be available to farmers before 2029. By 2014 Syngenta Agrisure RW-rootworm strains had been detected in Iowa as well as glyphosate. Agrisure RW-based products entered the market in 2007. However, government officials, academics and companies lack consensus on how to define the resistance phenomenon. The affected fields constituted 0.2% of transgenic US corn acres. Further the affected areas had not been rotated with other crops. As of December 2018, the corn rootworm has been found to be resistant to all four traits. Biological solutions In Austria, an innovative protection method has been developed, using the "mating disruption" method for the first time ever in fields. The according product is called CornProtect. The female bugs distribute pheromones that attract males. With that new method, such pheromones are put on specially treated mineral carriers and are slowly released over the full flying period of the bugs. Mating is significantly reduced, because males become disoriented and less interested in copulating. Reproduction is drastically reduced The application is done with conventional field sprayers which makes it economically very viable. References External links Western corn rootworm at Colorado State University website Rootworm page at Iowa State University website IPM Field Crops Western corn rootworm UIUC at University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Integrated Pest Management Galerucinae Agricultural pest insects Insects in culture Beetles described in 1868