Ground Cover Plants and Selective Insecticides as Pest Management Tools in Apple Orchards

AbstractBeetles are visible members of food webs in tea plantations, with high species richness and abundance. Many tea pests, as well as natural enemies, are members of this order, so a knowledge of how groundcovers affect beetles can aid pest management. We collected beetles in a replicated field experiment in the Wuyi Mountains, Fujian Province China. Tea was intercropped with Paspalum notatum or Chamaecrista rotundifolia, or rows were cleared to bare ground, or in the control they were left unmanaged to allow weeds to grow naturally. Sampling, done by sweep netting and vegetation beating, was conducted monthly, between May 2006 and April 2008, and Coleoptera abundance, biomass, species richness and assemblage structures were compared between groundcover treatments. Total beetle abundance and species richness were significantly higher in tea intercropped with C. rotundifolia and bare ground than in naturally grown weedy control. Whilst there was no difference between predator assemblages among treatments for any measure, herbivores were more abundant, weighed more, and were more diverse in C. rotundifolia treatments than in weedy control. Biomass and species richness were also greater in plots with P. notatum groundcover than those in weedy control. We found that beetle assemblages varied both seasonally and with ground cover treatment, but the potential pest control impact of more species-rich beetle assemblages was mixed, and further work is needed to gain information on trophic groups with potential benefits for use in non-insecticidal pest management.

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Pest management systems affect composition but not abundance of phytoseiid mites (Acari: Phytoseiidae) in apple orchards

Experimental and Applied Acarology ◽

10.1007/s10493-013-9752-0 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 62 (4) ◽

pp. 525-537 ◽

Cited By ~ 7

Author(s):

Árpád Szabó ◽

Béla Pénzes ◽

Péter Sipos ◽

Tamás Hegyi ◽

Zsuzsanna Hajdú ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Pest Management ◽

Management Systems ◽

Apple Orchards ◽

Phytoseiid Mites ◽

Pest Management Systems

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Impact of soil management systems on organic dwarf apple orchards and soil aggregate stability, bulk density, temperature and water content

Canadian Journal of Soil Science ◽

10.4141/cjss96-028 ◽

1996 ◽

Vol 76 (2) ◽

pp. 203-209 ◽

Cited By ~ 29

Author(s):

Brice D. Walsh ◽

Angus F. MacKenzie ◽

S. Salmins ◽

Deborah J. Buszard

Keyword(s):

Water Content ◽

Bulk Density ◽

Soil Water ◽

Tree Growth ◽

Aggregate Stability ◽

Ground Cover ◽

Soil Aggregate ◽

Apple Orchards ◽

Soil Aggregate Stability ◽

Straw Mulch

With growing pressure to reduce pesticide use, fruit growers require an alternative to herbicidal control of weeds. One option is the use of mulches or permanent vegetative ground covers, which in turn may have advantages in promoting soil physical properties and improving growth. This study examined the short-term effects of ground cover management in two newly established dwarf apple orchards in Quebec. Effects of cultivation, composted manure mulch, straw mulch, grass cover crops, a cover crop mixture of lupin and wild carrot (mixed flora) and geotextile were determined, comparing soil aggregate stability, bulk density, temperature, volumetric water content and tree growth. Straw and geotextile mulches resulted in higher soil water contents and tree growth relative to soil under grass or mixed flora ground cover. Ground cover maintained soil aggregate stability. Soil temperatures were highest under cultivation and geotextile treatments in spring and summer months, and apple yields and growth rates were greater than for ground cover treatments. Straw mulch buffered soil from temperature variation. Little effect of mulch treatments on soil bulk density was observed. Given that soil water content was the primary factor related to optimum orchard production straw and geotextile mulches promoted soil water retention and could be considered superior management options for growers, depending on costs of establishment and maintenance of the mulches. Key words: Mulches, ground cover, bulk density, aggregate stability, soil temperature, volumetric water content

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