scholarly journals Populations and Host/Non-Host Plants of Spittlebugs Nymphs in Olive Orchards from Northeastern Portugal

Insects ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (10) ◽  
pp. 720 ◽  
Author(s):  
María Villa ◽  
Isabel Rodrigues ◽  
Paula Baptista ◽  
Alberto Fereres ◽  
José Alberto Pereira

The Aphrophoridae family contains important vectors of Xylella fastidiosa, a serious bacterial plant disease. In olive orchards, nymphs usually feed on the ground-cover vegetation. However, detailed information about their populations and host/non-host plants in some regions threatened by Xylella, such as the northeast of Portugal, is very limited. The goal of our work was to identify the vector species, nymphal development period, and their host and non-host herbaceous plants in olive orchards from northeastern Portugal. Ground-cover plant species hosting or not hosting nymphs were identified during the spring of 2017 to 2019 in olive orchards. Nymphal development period, nymph aggregation, and nymph’s preferred feeding height of the ground-cover plants were recorded. The most abundant Aphrophoridae species was Philaenus spumarius followed by Neophilaenus sp. Nymphs developed from April to early May and showed a low number of individuals per foam (generally between one and three). They preferred the middle part of the plants. Philaenus spumarius feeds preferentially on Asteraceae and Fabaceae, and Neophilaenus sp. on Poaceae. Some abundant plants, such as Bromus diandrus, Astragalus pelecinus, Chrysanthemum segetum, Trifolium spp., Caryophyllaceae, and Brassicaceae, were barely colonized by Aphrophoridae nymphs. This knowledge is essential for the selection of the species composition of ground-cover vegetation to minimize the presence of vectors of X. fastidiosa in olive groves.

Insects ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 130 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicola Bodino ◽  
Vincenzo Cavalieri ◽  
Crescenza Dongiovanni ◽  
Matteo Alessandro Saladini ◽  
Anna Simonetto ◽  
...  

Spittlebugs are the vectors of the bacterium Xylella fastidiosa Wells in Europe, the causal agent of olive dieback epidemic in Apulia, Italy. Selection and distribution of different spittlebug species on host-plants were investigated during field surveys in 2016–2018 in four olive orchards of Apulia and Liguria Regions of Italy. The nymphal population in the herbaceous cover was estimated using quadrat samplings. Adults were collected by sweeping net on three different vegetational components: herbaceous cover, olive canopy, and wild woody plants. Three species of spittlebugs were collected: Philaenus spumarius L., Neophilaenus campestris (Fallén), and Aphrophora alni (L.) (Hemiptera: Aphrophoridae). Philaenus spumarius was the predominant species both in Apulia and Liguria olive groves. Nymphal stages are highly polyphagous, selecting preferentially Asteraceae Fabaceae plant families, in particular some genera, e.g., Picris, Crepis, Sonchus, Bellis, Cichorium, and Medicago. Host-plant preference of nymphs varies according to the Region and through time and nymphal instar. In the monitored sites, adults peak on olive trees earlier in Apulia (i.e., during inflorescence emergence) than in Liguria (i.e., during flowering and beginning of fruit development). Principal alternative woody hosts are Quercus spp. and Pistacia spp. Knowledge concerning plant selection and ecological traits of spittlebugs in different Mediterranean olive production areas is needed to design effective and precise control strategies against X. fastidiosa vectors in olive groves, such as ground cover modifications to reduce populations of spittlebug vectors.


2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (11) ◽  
Author(s):  
Halus Satriawan ◽  
ZAHRUL FUADY ◽  
ERNAWITA ERNAWITA

Abstract. Satriawan H, Fuady Z, Ernawita. 2021. The potential of Nephrolepis biserrata fern as ground cover vegetation in oil palm plantation. Biodiversitas 22: 4808-4817. Nuisance plants or weeds are commonly found in agricultural landscapes including in oil palm plantations. Despite being considered as weeds, several of them have the potential to be used as ground cover vegetation including Nephrolepis biserrata (Sw). Schott. This fern species exhibits beneficial characteristic as ground cover plant especially in terms of the contribution of organic matter and soil moisture through the prevention of evapotranspiration. The objective of this research is to explore the potential of N.biserrata as ground cover vegetation in oil palm plantations based on the assessment of its ecological characteristics regarding the growth and decomposition rate, tolerance to shade, organic contents and carbon accumulation. The split plot experimental design was used with the age of oil palm plants was used as main plot while in the sub-plots the spacing of N. biserrata was used at three varying distances 10x10cm, 20x20 cm, and 30x30 cm, each treatment had three replicates. Nine parameters observed were the percentage of growth, the percentage of ground cover, plant height, fronds number per plant, leaves number per plant, Leaf Area Index, dry weight (g), nutrient content in plant tissue, and potential carbon stock. Results showed that N. biserrata showed rapid growth in covering the ground surface (8-12 weeks after planting), had rapid decomposition rate (30-60 days), tolerant to shading which was characterized by the highest percentage of growth up to 81.16% and covering area up to 95.9%, accumulated organic contents of N (1.23-1.53%), P (0.18-0.22%), and K (1.4-1.67%), respectively. In addition, total dry weight biomass obtained was 27.1 ton/ha, accumulated carbon in plant of 0.9 tons C/ha/year, and amount of soil carbon stock 76.4-97.4 tonnes/ha/year. The results of this study suggest that Nephrolepis biserrata is a potential plant to be utilized as a ground cover plant in oil palm plantations.


2012 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 287-298 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hassan Yeganeh ◽  
Seyed jamale Khajedein ◽  
Fazel Amiri ◽  
Abdul Rashid B. Mohamed Shariff

1963 ◽  
Vol 39 (3) ◽  
pp. 273-278 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. K. Heringa ◽  
R. G. H. Cormack

The present paper describes the ground vegetation of even-aged pine stands in West Central Alberta on six different sites and attempts to relate the ground vegetation to soil conditions.


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