scholarly journals Diverging Effects of Landscape Factors and Inter-Row Management on the Abundance of Beneficial and Herbivorous Arthropods in Andalusian Vineyards (Spain)

Insects ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (10) ◽  
pp. 320
Author(s):  
Judt ◽  
Guzmán ◽  
Gómez ◽  
Cabezas ◽  
Entrenas ◽  
...  

Land use at landscape and field scales can increase the diversity and abundance of natural enemies for pest control. In this study, we investigated interactions between landscape elements (semi-natural vegetation, olive orchards, vineyards, other agricultural areas) and inter-row management (vegetation cover vs. bare soil) in relation to arthropod populations in Andalusian vineyards. Arthropods were collected from grapevine foliage in 15 vineyards using suction sampling. Landscape structure was analyzed within a 750 m radius surrounding the studied vineyards. Arthropods were categorized into functional groups (predators, parasitoids, herbivores), and their responses to the most influencing factors were analyzed by likelihood methods and model selection. Of the total of 650 arthropods collected, 48% were predators, 33% herbivores and 19% parasitoids. Numbers of predatory aeolothrips, parasitoids and herbivorous cicadas in the study vineyards decreased with an increased proportion of vineyards in the surroundings. Spider populations in vineyards increased with increasing proportions of other agricultural fields (non-flowering crops) in the surroundings. Semi-natural elements and olive orchards had no influence on the abundance of collected arthropods. We observed synergistic effects between landscape elements and inter-row management. The total numbers of arthropods, herbivores and parasitoids in vineyards benefitted from inter-row vegetation, while spiders benefitted from bare soil. Our findings underline the importance of both surrounding landscape elements and vineyard ground cover management to promote beneficial arthropods for potential natural pest control.

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiang-Yun Ji ◽  
Jin-Yan Wang ◽  
Matteo Dainese ◽  
Hao Zhang ◽  
Yi-Juan Chen ◽  
...  

Abstract The use of ground cover vegetation is becoming a prominent intervention for promoting biodiversity and associated ecosystem services in Chinese orchards. Despite the large number of studies that have examined the effects of ground cover vegetation on promoting natural enemy populations and related natural pest control, it is less understood whether enhanced natural pest control translates to increase yield and reduced pesticide use. We conducted a 2-year experiment comparing three cover vegetation (ryegrass, clover, and hairy vetch) practices versus a bare ground control in commercial pear orchards in the Yangtze River Delta of East China (YRDEC), China. Natural enemy density (predator and parasitoid abundance), invertebrate herbivore performance (piercing-sucking herbivore abundance and branch-boring and fruit-boring percentage), pesticide input and pear fruit yield were recorded. The results indicated that cover vegetation decreased herbivore abundance and boring percentage by 49.95 and 63.6% respectively, and thus decreased pesticide use by 26.10%. Meanwhile, we found that cover vegetation increased the abundance of natural enemies by 620.75%, and increased pear fruit yield by 6.82%. Piecewise structural equation modelling indicated that increased natural enemy densities, decreased herbivore performance and pesticide use, while increasing fruit yield. Our results confirm that the use of ground cover vegetations (especially with clover and hairy vetch) can promote ecological intensification and biological pest control in pear orchards.


2010 ◽  
Vol 100 (4) ◽  
pp. 489-499 ◽  
Author(s):  
E.B. Silva ◽  
J.C. Franco ◽  
T. Vasconcelos ◽  
M. Branco

AbstractThe effect of ground cover upon the communities of beneficial arthropods established in the canopy of lemon trees was investigated, by comparing three ground-cover management treatments applied: RV, resident vegetation; S, sowed selected species; and BS, bare soil by controlling weeds with herbicide. Over two consecutive years, arthropod communities in the tree canopy were sampled periodically by beating and suction techniques. Significantly higher numbers of beneficial arthropods were found in the RV and S treatments in comparison with bare soil. Spiders and parasitoid wasps were the two most common groups, representing, respectively, 70% and 19% of all catches in beating samples and 33% and 53% in suction samples. For the RV and S treatments, significant seasonal deviations from the bare soil treatment were observed using principal response curves. Similar seasonal patterns were observed over the two years. The RV and S treatments showed significant positive deviations from the BS treatment in late spring and summer, accounted for the higher numbers of parasitoid wasps, coccinelids and lacewings present. By contrast, the seasonal deviations observed for the spider community differed from those of the remaining arthropods. During late winter and early spring, the RV and S treatments presented a higher abundance of spiders in the tree canopy, in comparison with bare soil, whereas in the summer significantly more spiders were found in the bare soil treatment. Spider movements between tree canopy and ground vegetation layers may justify this result.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Heidi L. Kolkert ◽  
Rhiannon Smith ◽  
Romina Rader ◽  
Nick Reid

AbstractFactors influencing the efficacy of insectivorous vertebrates in providing natural pest control services inside crops at increasing distances from the crop edge are poorly understood. We investigated the identity of vertebrate predators (birds and bats) and removal of sentinel prey (mealworms and beetles) from experimental feeding trays in cotton crops using prey removal trials, camera traps and observations. More prey was removed during the day than at night, but prey removal was variable at the crop edge and dependent on the month (reflecting crop growth and cover) and time of day. Overall, the predation of mealworms and beetles was 1-times and 13-times greater during the day than night, respectively, with predation on mealworms 3–5 times greater during the day than night at the crop edge compared to 95 m inside the crop. Camera traps identified many insectivorous birds and bats over crops near the feeding trays, but there was no evidence of bats or small passerines removing experimental prey. A predation gradient from the crop edge was evident, but only in some months. This corresponded to the foraging preferences of open-space generalist predators (magpies) in low crop cover versus the shrubby habitat preferred by small passerines, likely facilitating foraging away from the crop edge later in the season. Our results are in line with Optimal Foraging Theory and suggest that predators trade-off foraging behaviour with predation risk at different distances from the crop edge and levels of crop cover. Understanding the optimal farm configuration to support insectivorous bird and bat populations can assist farmers to make informed decisions regarding in-crop natural pest control and maximise the predation services provided by farm biodiversity.


Insects ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 220
Author(s):  
Jo Marie Reiff ◽  
Sebastian Kolb ◽  
Martin H. Entling ◽  
Thomas Herndl ◽  
Stefan Möth ◽  
...  

Habitat simplification and intensive use of pesticides are main drivers of global arthropod declines and are, thus, decreasing natural pest control. Organic farming, complex landscapes, and local vineyard management practices such as implementation of flower-rich cover-crop mixtures may be a promising approach to enhance predator abundance and, therefore, natural pest control. We examined the effect of organic versus integrated management, cover-crop diversity in the vineyard inter-rows, and landscape composition on the natural pest control of Lobesia botrana eggs and pupae. Predation of L. botrana pupae was reduced by organic farming and species-poor cover-crops by about 10%. Predation rates of L. botrana eggs did not differ significantly in any of the studied management options. Dominant predators were earwigs (Forficulidae), bush crickets (Tettigoniidae), and ants (Formicidae). Negative effects of organic viticulture are most likely related to the negative nontarget effects on arthropods related to the frequent sulfur and copper applications in combination with the avoidance of strongly damaging insecticides by integrated winegrowers. While a 10% difference in predation rates on a single pest stage is unlikely to have strong practical implications, our results show that the assumed effectiveness of environmentally friendly agriculture needs to be evaluated for specific crops and regions.


2018 ◽  
Vol 30 ◽  
pp. 149-157 ◽  
Author(s):  
Han Zhang ◽  
Michael P.D. Garratt ◽  
Alison Bailey ◽  
Simon G. Potts ◽  
Tom Breeze

2021 ◽  
Vol 3 ◽  
Author(s):  
Giovanni Antonio Puliga ◽  
Jan Thiele ◽  
Hauke Ahnemann ◽  
Jens Dauber

In agroecosystems, crop diversification plays a fundamental role in maintaining and regenerating biodiversity and ecosystem services, such as natural pest control. Temporal diversification of cropping systems can affect the presence and activity of natural enemies by providing alternative hosts and prey, food, and refuges for overwintering. However, we still lack studies on the effects of temporal diversification on generalist predators and their biocontrol potential conducted at field scale in commercial agricultural settings. Here, we measured proxies of ecosystem functions related with biological pest control in 29 commercial agricultural fields characterized by cereal-based cropping system in Lower-Saxony, northern Germany. The fields differed in the number of crops and cover crops cultivated during the previous 12 years. Using the Rapid Ecosystem Function Assessment approach, we measured invertebrate predation, seed predation and activity density of generalist predators. We aimed at testing whether the differences in the crop rotations from the previous years would affect activity of predators and their predation rates in the current growing season. We found that the length of the crop rotation had neutral effects on the proxies measured. Furthermore, predation rates were generally lower if the rotation comprised a higher number of cover crops compared to rotation with less cover crops. The activity density of respective taxa of predatory arthropods responded differently to the number of cover crops in the crop rotation. Our results suggest that temporal crop diversity may not benefit the activity and efficiency of generalist predators when diversification strategies involve crops of very similar functional traits. Adding different resources and traits to the agroecosystems through a wider range of cultivated crops and the integration of semi-natural habitats are aspects that need to be considered when developing more diverse cropping systems aiming to provide a more efficient natural pest control.


2013 ◽  
Vol 14 (3) ◽  
pp. 449 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dimitrije Marković

Crop monocultures encourage the multiplication and spread of pest insects on massive and uniform crop. Numerous studies have evaluated the impact of plant diversification on pests and beneficial arthropods population dynamics in agricultural ecosystems and provided some evidence that habitat manipulation techniques like intercropping can significantly influence pest control. This paper describes various potential options of habitat management and design that enhance ecological role of biodiversity in agroecosystems. The focus of this review is the application and mechanisms of biodiversity in agricultural systems to enhance pest management.


Irriga ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 21 (2) ◽  
pp. 352
Author(s):  
HIPÓLITO MURGA-ORRILLO ◽  
WELLINGTON FARIAS ARAUJO ◽  
CARLOS ABANTO RODRIGUEZ ◽  
RICARDO MANUEL BARDALES LOZANO ◽  
ROBERTO TADASHI SAKAZAKI ◽  
...  

INFLUÊNCIA DA COBERTURA MORTA NA EVAPOTRANSPIRAÇÃO, COEFICIENTE DE CULTIVO E EFICIÊNCIA DE USO DE ÁGUA DO MILHO CULTIVADO EM CERRADO HIPÓLITO MURGA-ORRILLO1; WELLINGTON FARIAS ARAÚJO2; CARLOS ABANTO-RODRIGUEZ3; ROBERTO TADASHI SAKAZAKI4; RICARDO MANUEL BARDALES-LOZANO5 E ANA ROSA POLO-VARGAS6 1Engenheiro Agrônomo, Prof. Auxiliar, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de Chota, (UNACH), Jr. Gregorio Malca Nº 875- Campus Colpa Matara, Chota, Perú. [email protected] Agrônomo, Prof. Dr. Associado da UFRR/CCA, Boa Vista, RR. [email protected] Florestal, Investigador no Instituto de Investigaciones de la Amazonía Peruana, Carretera Federico Basadre, Km 12,400, Yarinacocha, Ucayali, Perú. [email protected] Agrônomo, Doutorando na UFRR/CCA, Boa Vista, RR. [email protected] Agrônomo, Doutorando na UFRR/Bionorte, Boa Vista, RR. [email protected] Agrônoma, Graduada na Universidad Nacional de Cajamarca, (UNC), Av. Atahualpa Nº 1050- Carretera Cajamarca-Baños del Inca, Cajamarca, Perú. [email protected]  1 RESUMOA irrigação consome grande quantidade de água, sendo importante um adequado manejo da cultura para minimizar esse consumo, maximizando a produção. No intuito de obter informações para o manejo da irrigação, objetivou-se com o presente trabalho determinar a evapotranspiração da cultura (ETc), o coeficiente de cultivo (Kc) e a eficiência do uso de água (EUAg) da cultura de milho, em solo com e sem cobertura, durante os diferentes estádios de desenvolvimento, utilizando lisímetros de drenagem. O experimento foi conduzido no campus Cauamé da Universidade Federal de Roraima, entre 19/04/2014 e 07/08/2014, em Boa Vista, RR. A evapotranspiração de referência (ETo) foi estimada pelo método de Penman-Monteith FAO. Os resultados da ETc do milho, durante o ciclo da cultura, em solo sem e com cobertura foram de 421,5 e 351,0 mm, respectivamente. As médias diárias de ETc foram de 4,1 mm dia-1 para solo sem cobertura e 3,4 mm dia-1 para solo com cobertura. A cobertura do solo propiciou valores diferentes de Kc's para o milho, nos mesmos estádios, em comparação aos Kc’s do solo descoberto. Para o solo descoberto, os Kc’s observados para os estádios fenológicos I, II, III, e IV, foram de 0,40; 0,84; 1,59 e 0,81, respectivamente. Já para solo com cobertura, os Kc’s pelos mesmos estádios em menção foram 0,28; 0,64; 1,49 e 0,48, respectivamente. A EUAg para solo com cobertura foi 1,77 kg m-3 e para solo sem cobertura foi 1,65 kg m-3. Estes resultados mostram que a cobertura morta no solo influenciou no consumo hídrico do milho durante todo seu ciclo. Palavras-chave: Zea mays. Irrigação. Solo coberto. Consumo hídrico.  MURGA-ORRILLO, H.; ARAÚJO, W. F.; ABANTO-RODRIGUEZ C.; SAKAZAKI, R. T.; BARDALES-LOZANO R. M.; POLO-VARGAS, A. R.MULCH INFLUENCE ON EVAPOTRANSPIRATION, CROP COEFFICIENT AND WATER USE EFFICIENCY OF CORN GROWN IN THE SAVANNAH   2 ABSTRACTIrrigation consumes large amounts of water, and minimizing consumption and maximizing the production are  important to a proper crop management . In order to obtain information for irrigation management, the aim of the present study was to determine evapotranspiration (ETc),  crop coefficient (Kc) and  water use efficiency (WUE) of maize grown in soil with and without cover, during the various stages of development, using drainage lysimeters. The experiment was conducted in Cauamé campus of the Federal University of Roraima, from 19/04/2014 to 08/07/2014, in Boa Vista, RR. The reference evapotranspiration (ETo) was estimated by the Penman-Monteith method. The results of the corn ETc during the crop cycle in soil with and without coverage were 421.5 and 351.0 mm, respectively. The daily average of ETc were 4.1 mm day-1 for bare soil and 3.4 mm day-1 for soil with cover. The ground cover led to different values of Kc's for corn in the same stages as compared to Kc's from the bare ground. For bare soil, the Kc's observed for the phenological stages I, II, III, and IV were 0.40; 0.84; 1.59 and 0.81, respectively. As for covered soil, the Kc's in the same stadiums mentioned were 0.28; 0.64; 1.49 and 0.48, respectively. The WUE to soil with cover was 1.77 kg m-3 and ground without cover was 1.65 kg m-3. These results show that  soil mulching influenceS maize water consumption throughout its cycle. Keywords: Zea mays. Irrigation. Ground covered. Water consumption.


2020 ◽  
Vol 2 ◽  
pp. ec02002
Author(s):  
Ivan C. F. Martins ◽  
Francisco J. Cividanes

The Ground beetles occurrence in agricultural areas can contribute to pest control as well as indicate environmental quality. This study aimed to evaluate the composition of the Carabidae community in an agricultural area of annual crops. Ninety-six pitfall traps were installed in a grid 10 meters apart. The experimental area had one hectare in a double-cropping system of soybean (summer) and corn (autumn-winter) followed by a fallow period. Ground beetle composition analysis was performed using ANAFAU software. We collected 42 species and 1537 specimens of Carabidae distributed in 14 tribes. Harpalini tribe was the most common compared to the others. Were considered predominant, in the fauna analysis, the species Calosoma alternans granulatum Perty, 1830, Selenophorus discopunctatus Dejean, 1829, Selenophorus alternans Dejean, 1829, Selenophorus sp.1, Tetracha brasiliensis (Kirby, 1819), Abaris basistriata Chaudoir, 1873 and Galerita collaris Dejean, 1826. Thus, a diverse and abundant Carabidae community was identified in that cropping system.


Toxins ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (9) ◽  
pp. 587
Author(s):  
Monika Nowak ◽  
Przemysław Bernat ◽  
Julia Mrozińska ◽  
Sylwia Różalska

Metarhizium sp. are entomopathogenic fungi that inhabit the soil environment. Together, they act as natural pest control factors. In the natural environment, they come into contact with various anthropogenic pollutants, and sometimes, they are used together and interchangeably with chemical insecticides (e.g., neonicotinoids) for pest control. In most cases, the compatibility of entomopathogens with insecticides has been determined; however, the influence of these compounds on the metabolism of entomopathogenic fungi has not yet been studied. Secondary metabolites are very important factors that influence the fitness of the producers, playing important roles in the ability of these pathogens to successfully parasitize insects. In this study, for the first time, we focus on whether the insecticide present in the fungal growth environment affects secondary metabolism in fungi. The research revealed that acetamiprid at concentrations from 5 to 50 mg L−1 did not inhibit the growth of all tested Metarhizium sp.; however, it reduced the level of 19 produced destruxins in direct proportion to the dosage used. Furthermore, it was shown that acetamiprid accumulates not only in plant or animal tissues, but also in fungal cells. Despite the negative impact of acetamiprid on secondary metabolism, it was proofed to accumulate in Metarhizium spores, which appeared to have a stronger infectious potential against mealworm Tenebrio molitor, in comparison to the insecticide or the biological agent alone.


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