scholarly journals The potential for wildflower interventions to enhance natural enemies and pollinators in commercial apple orchards is limited by other management practices

2020 ◽  
Vol 301 ◽  
pp. 107034 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. McKerchar ◽  
S.G. Potts ◽  
M.T. Fountain ◽  
M.P.D. Garratt ◽  
D.B. Westbury
2021 ◽  
Vol 5 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zhaoke Dong ◽  
Mengjing Xia ◽  
Cheng Li ◽  
Baofeng Mu ◽  
Zhiyong Zhang

Sowing plants that provide food resources in orchards is a potential habitat management practice for enhancing biological control. Flowering plants (providing pollen and nectar) and grasses (providing alternative prey) can benefit natural enemies in orchards; however, little is known about their relative importance. We studied the effect of management practices (flower strips, grass strips, and spontaneous grass) on arthropod predators under organic apple management regimes in apple orchards in Beijing, China. Orchards located at two different sites were assessed for 3 years (2017–2019). The cover crops had a significant impact on the abundance and diversity of arthropod predators. The grass treatment consistently supported significantly greater densities of alternative prey resources for predators, and predators were more abundant in the grass than in the other treatments. The Shannon–Wiener diversity was significantly higher for the cover crop treatment than for the control. Community structure was somewhat similar between the grass and control, but it differed between the flower treatment and grass/control. Weak evidence for an increase in mobile predators (ladybirds and lacewings) in the orchard canopy was found. Ladybirds and lacewings were more abundant in the grass treatment than in the other treatments in 2019 only, while the aphid abundance in the grass treatment was lowest. The fact that grass strips promoted higher predator abundance and stronger aphid suppression in comparison to the flower strips suggests that providing alternative prey for predators has great biocontrol service potential. The selection of cover crops and necessary management for conserving natural enemies in orchards are discussed in this paper.


2020 ◽  
Vol 49 (2) ◽  
pp. 324-333 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hailey N Shanovich ◽  
Brian H Aukema ◽  
Robert L Koch

Abstract Halyomorpha halys is an invasive, polyphagous insect that feeds on many major crops, including apple. Statewide monitoring in Minnesota has shown continued increase of H. halys populations and occurrence of this pest in apple orchards. Potential arthropod natural enemies of H. halys and other pests have not been studied in Minnesota apple orchards. The purpose of this study was to characterize the composition of natural enemy communities; compare their abundances, richness and diversities between apple cultivars using different sampling methods; and assess the impact of natural enemies on sentinel eggs of H. halys in Minnesota apple orchards. Sampling occurred during the summers of 2017 and 2018 on Zestar! and Honeycrisp cultivars in four different apple orchards. In vacuum samples, arachnids, neuropterans, and coccinellids had the highest relative abundances. On yellow sticky traps, anthocorids were the most abundant. The total predator abundance differed between the cultivars sampled across years, with more predators found on Zestar! compared with Honeycrisp. No differences were observed in richness or diversity between cultivars with the exception of yellow sticky traps in 2017, which showed a greater diversity of predators in Zestar!. Despite the abundance of natural enemies sampled, sentinel egg masses deployed in the orchards each summer suffered on average <2% predation and no parasitism across years. Knowledge of differences in predator abundance between cultivars could inform management decisions; however, with current management practices, the potential for biological control of H. halys in conventional apple orchards appears low.


Insects ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 239
Author(s):  
Davide Scaccini ◽  
Enrico Ruzzier ◽  
Kent M. Daane

Grape cultivation is a billion-dollar agricultural sector in California, where invasive or novel pest species can disrupt management practices. We report herein on a new pest associated with California vineyards, the carpentermoth Givira ethela (Neumoegen and Dyar, 1893). Rather than an invasive species, G. ethela appears to be a newly recognized wood-boring pest of Vitis vinifera (L.) in regions of California’s Central Valley, where its initial occurrence has been dated back to, at least, the beginning of the 2000s. The habitus of adult, genitalia and pupa is illustrated. Givira ethela distribution in California is updated including published records and new data. Carpentermoth galleries seem to facilitate the access of Planococcus ficus Signoret, 1875 to vine sap and protection from natural enemies, environmental stresses, and pesticide treatments. Notes on pest status, life history, monitoring practices, natural enemies, and management options on grapes are also discussed. Tools for the Integrated Pest Management of G. ethela should include the correct identification of the insect and its damage, a full understanding of its biology and ecology, the application of monitoring methods, and the identification of economic thresholds and injury levels.


Author(s):  
Muzaffar Ahmad Ganie ◽  
Amit Kumar Pal ◽  
Nazeer Ahmad

It is now clear that over use of pesticides and intensive management of orchards can lead to drastic declines in apple pollinator abundance and crop failures. During the period of study a grower’s survey was conducted to know about knowledge of farmers on native insect pollinators, pollinator management practices, their perceptions of the importance and utility of native pollinators, and their attitudes regarding pesticide application. Despite of having significant knowledge of managed pollination, only few farmers (2%) adopted supplementary methods of pollination (renting honey bee colonies, hand pollination etc.). In Pulwama, 60% of farmers had knowledge about native insect pollinators and 40% did not have any idea of native pollinators and in case of Shopian, the figures were fifty-fifty i.e. 50% had knowledge about native insect pollinators and 50% were unaware. During the period of investigation, native insect pollinators were sampled from different apple orchards under different management systems in early spring during apple flowering. A total of 17 species of insect pollinators belonging to 11 families and 3 orders_ Hymenoptera, Diptera and Lepidoptera registered their occurrence at all the studied apple orchards of the Kashmir Valley. At all the study sites i.e. apple orchards under different management systems, family Halictidae and Empididae registered their presence as dominant groups. The % family contribution of the former at different orchard types decreased with increase in the intensity of the management system and the % family contribution of the later however, showed a direct relationship with the management system found, i.e. the more intense the system, the more abundant was the group. Other groups in general did not show any greater differences in abundances at different sites studied.


2009 ◽  
Vol 28 (8) ◽  
pp. 675-683 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicole J. Bone ◽  
Linda J. Thomson ◽  
Peter M. Ridland ◽  
Peter Cole ◽  
Ary A. Hoffmann

2004 ◽  
Vol 4 ◽  
pp. 52-62
Author(s):  
Mylene Milan Po ◽  
◽  
Bimbo Mandras ◽  

Rice black bug infestation in the island of Leyte was noticed in late 2001 in Libagon, Southern Leyte. Spread of infestation continued irregularly in many municipalities of Leyte in a year. Light trapping, delayed and synchronous rice planting, duck herding, handpicking of rice blag bug, fallowing, weeding and application of Metarhizium anisopliae were some of the control strategies done by farmers in reducing rice black bug population. Natural enemies that were observed to be present in the field were Solenopsis sp. (red ant), Micraspis crocet Mulsant (coccinellid beetle), Ophionia nigrofasciata (Schmidt-Goebel) [ground beeetle], Metioche vittaticollis (cricket), salticid (jumping spider), Tetragnatha sp. (four-jawed spider), Lycosa sp. (ground spider), and Oxyopes sp. (lynx spider), Telenomus sp. (Order Hymenoptera, wasp) and M. anisopliae (green muscardine fungus)


2016 ◽  
Vol 149 (1) ◽  
pp. 56-72 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hazem Dib ◽  
Benoît Sauphanor ◽  
Yvan Capowiez

AbstractThe aim of this paper is to provide detailed data on the reproduction of the European earwigForficula auriculariaLinnaeus (Dermaptera: Forficulidae) under natural conditions. We also describe its spring field population structure and dynamics in organic apple orchards in southeastern France using artificial and natural shelters. Two nymph cohorts could be distinguished in a laboratory reproduction study. The first brood, following the first egg-laying event in late November, had significantly higher pre-imaginal survival (1.74-fold) than the second brood in early April. The egg phase was the most vulnerable with a higher mortality rate in the first brood than the second. Independent of brood number, nymphal survival increased from second nymphal instars (N2) onwards with values higher than 96%. In orchards, N3 were generally observed in natural and artificial shelters from the end of April to mid-June. N4 was the most abundant life stage sampled and the only stage present at the majority of sampling dates, especially from early May onwards. Beginning in June, the abundance of new adults of a given year gradually increased especially in the artificial shelters. This descriptive study can now be used to develop phenological models aimed at limiting earwig mortality due to horticultural management practices and increasing their predation level in conservative or augmentative approaches.


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