Shoot fly is a serious pest of the southern regions but Shoot fly also appears on spring and summer maize crops in the Northern regions of India. Shoot fly primarily attack at the seedling stage of the maize crop. The tiny maggots of the shoot fly creep down under the leaf sheaths until they reach the base of the seedlings. Afterward, they cut down the growing point or central shoot which ultimately results in the formation of a dead heart.
Control of Shootfly:
• Spring Sowing of the maize crop must be completed before the first week of February so that the crop will escape from the shoot fly infestation.
• Spring sowing of maize crops must be completed with seed treatment with Imidacloprid @ 6ml/kg seed.
Termites (Odontotermes obesus) ;

Termite is also an important pest problem of maize crops in many areas. For control of termites, apply fipronil granules  @ 20 kg ha-1 accomplished by light irrigation. If the termite incidence occurs in patches then spot application of fipronil @ 2-3 granules/plant should be done. Clean cultivation of the maize crops delays termite attacks.
Other emerging pests:
Recently some other non-traditional pests of maize crop  are also causing damage to maize crop like the  larvae of American Bollworm (Helicoverpa armigera) which causes damage to cob in the southern states of India  while the Chaffer beetle (Chiloloba acuta) feeds on maize pollen which adversely affects pollination in the northern states of India.

Disease management in Maize Cultivation ;
BLSB, Pythium stalk rot, Bacterial stalk rot, PFSRs, Polysora rust, and Downy mildew are some of the major diseases of the maize crop which occur across the country in different seasons because of these diseases maize crop suffers major yield losses. It is estimated that due to diseases there is a substantial loss occurs in maize crop yields which are approx. 13%  ( out of which  5% yield loss is due to the  root rots, stem rots, and ear rots  and  5% yield loss is due to foliar diseases  )    The major diseases and their management practices are described below:
Turcicum leaf blight (Exserohilum turcicum) ;

This disease most commonly occurs in low-temperature condition with a high relative humidity area. Long, elliptical, greyish-green, or tan lesions (2.5-15 cm) appear on lower leaves progressing upward. Grow the resistant varieties in these areas followed by need-based sprays of mancozeb @ 2.5 g/litre (with adjutant @ 0.05%) at 8-10 days of intervals.
Maydis leaf blight (Drechslera maydis) ;

It is a major disease under the  warm humid temperate to tropical climate during the cropping period. The major symptom of this disease;  Lesions on the leaves elongated between the veins, tan with buff to brown or dark reddish-brown borders. Lesion size may vary in Maize inbreds and maize hybrids due to different genetic backgrounds. Growing of resistant varieties with the need-based application of mancozeb or zineb @ 2.5g/liter of water.
Common rust (Puccinia sorghi) ;
This rust attacks in the maize growing areas with subtropical temperate and high land environments It appears at the time of tasselling. The circular to elongate, golden brown to cinnamon brown pustules are visible over both leaf surfaces changing to brownish-black at plant maturity. Adopt promising hybrids/ varieties. A spray of mancozeb@ 2.5g/liter of water at the first appearance of pustules. Prefer early maturing varieties.
Polysora Rust (Puccinia polysora) ;
This disease is commonly found in areas where mild temperature and high relative humidity persist. Light cinnamon golden brown circular to oval pustules can be seen on the leaf which is densely spread on the upper surface of the leaf. There is a development of more number of pustules on the lower surface in comparison to the upper surface of the leaf. Sowing of the maize composites and the hybrids seeds which are resistant to Polysora rust disease is recommendable.

Banded leaf and sheath blight(Rhizoctonia solani f. sp. Sasakii) 
it is a common disease that mainly occurs in the foothills region of the northern states of the country. The visible symptom of the disease is the white lesions on the leaves and sheath of the maize plant. The Purplish or brown horizontal bands are present on white lesions. This disease appears on leaves and sheaths on 40-50 days old plants and later on spread to the ears. The characteristic lesions appear as concentric bands and rings on lower leaves and sheaths (first and second). The affected plant of maize produces large, grey, tan, or brown discolored areas alternating with dark brown bands. Later on, the Sclerotia are formed in these areas. The developing ear of maize plants is completely damaged and dried up prematurely with a cracking of the husk leaves. Brown rotting of the maize plants’ ears may develop which shows the conspicuous light brown cottony mold with small, round black sclerotia. The Stripping of lower 2-3 leaves along with their sheath considerably lowers incidence. grow the tolerance varieties to this disease. The seeds must be treated with a peat-based formulation @ 16 g/kg of Pseudomonas fluorescence or as soil application @ 7g/litre of water, carbendazim, thiophanate-methyl and 12 captan and a foliar spray (30-40 days old maize crop) of tolcofos-methyl @ 1g/ litre or validamycin @ 2.7ml/litre of water.

 Downy mildews (DM) ;
DMs group of pathogens are one of the most important factors limiting maize production in the country. Some of the most important species causing downy mildew of maize in India are the Sorghum downy mildew (SDM; Peronosclerospora sorghi), Brown stripe downy mildew (BSDM; Sclerophthora rayssiae var. zeae) and Rajasthan downy mildew (RDM; Peronosclerospora 13 hetropogoni). BSDM is found in Himachal Pradesh, Sikkim, West Bengal, Meghalaya, Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, Uttarakhand, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and Gujrat; SDM in Gujrat, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and RDM in Rajasthan and surrounding areas. In BSDM, Maize crop leaves possess a narrow, chlorotic or yellowish stripe with well-defined margins, and delimited by the veins appear. Downy or woolly cottony whitish growth can be easily visible in the early morning hours on lower surfaces of the lesions. Chlorotic plants are seen in SDM infected fields and the affected area includes the base of the blade with a transverse margin and is easily defined between diseased and healthy tissue. RDM symptoms are characterized by the pale appearance of bases of second & third diseased leaves of the seedling giving complete chlorosis or chlorotic strips. Severely infected plants of the corn crop give a yellowish appearance even from a faraway distance. The infected plants die at the about knee-high stage. Maize crop  plant shows local or secondary symptoms which start appearing from 2-3 leaf stage until tassels and silks are formed. The plants under the prevailing humid conditions show a whitish fluffy growth due to abundant fructification of the fungus can be observed on the lower and upper leaf surfaces of the maize crop plants. Tassels may be malformed producing less pollen while ears may be aborted resulting in partial or complete sterility. In early symptoms, plants are stunted and may die. Rogue and destroy infected plants as they appear in the field. Maize-sorghum crop rotation in the field where the disease has occurred should be avoided. Avoid sowing of maize crop adjacent to a field of maize or sorghum to avoid the spread of secondary infection. Early planting of maize escapes RDM infection. Use resistant varieties /hybrids  Seeds should invariably be treated with metalaxyl @ 2.5g/kg seed and need-based foliar sprays of a systemic fungicide such as metalaxyl @ 2-2.5g/L is recommended at the first appearance of disease symptoms.

Harvesting of Maize Crop ;