scholarly journals Toward a better understanding of in-field weed regulation by carabid beetles, and their functional characteristics, in European arable landscapes

2019 ◽  
Vol 2 ◽  
Author(s):  
Benjamin Carbonne ◽  
David Bohan ◽  
Sandrine Petit

For future arable agriculture, there is a need for more sustainable methods to manage weeds that are less reliant on herbicides and maintain food production. Control of weeds by natural enemies is an agro-ecological alternative to reduce the use of herbicides. While strong evidence points to carabid beetles exerting a regulatory effect on certain weed species, it is difficult to predict whether a particular assemblage of carabid species or functional groups will drive the function of weed seed predation in field conditions. There are also uncertainties about which key local and landscape-scale factors affect the function of weed seed predation, and the functional characteristics of carabid communities. In this presentation, we report on specific research actions being conducted within the wider C-IPM BioAWARE project that focuses on weed regulation by carabid biodiversity. We first briefly present statistical analyses aimed at identifying key assemblages of carabid taxa delivering high weed seed predation of Viola arvensis seeds during spring. We then present the principles and the implementation of the BioAWARE large-scale European survey currently in place. We explain how this large-scale design will be used to assess: (i) how landscape characteristics and infield trophic resources determine the functional characteristics and the diversity of carabid communities; and, (ii) key carabid assemblages delivering high seed predation of a large range of weeds through the evolution of the seedbank.

2019 ◽  
Vol 19 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexandre M M C Loureiro ◽  
G Christopher Cutler ◽  
Vilis O Nams ◽  
Scott N White

Abstract Poecilus lucublandus (Say), Pterostichus mutus (Say), and Harpalus rufipes (De Geer) are abundant Carabidae in lowbush blueberry fields and may contribute to weed seed predation. We used laboratory no-choice test experiments to determine if these beetles feed on seeds of hair fescue (Festuca filiformis Pourr., Poales: Poaceae), poverty oatgrass (Danthonia spicata L.), and red sorrel (Rumex acetosella L., Caryophyllales: Polygonaceae), which are common weeds in lowbush blueberry (Vaccinium angustifolium Ait., Ericales: Ericaceae) fields. Poecilus lucublandus and P. mutus did not feed on seeds of the test weed species, but H. rufipes consumed on average over 30 seeds of each species. There are other weed seeds in blueberry fields that could be palatable to P. lucublandus and P. mutus, which warrants further research on the granivory potential of these important carabid species.


2013 ◽  
Vol 28 (3) ◽  
pp. 487-494 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dennis Jonason ◽  
Henrik G. Smith ◽  
Jan Bengtsson ◽  
Klaus Birkhofer

2019 ◽  
Vol 2 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ezequiel González ◽  
Miroslav Seidl ◽  
Martin Štrobl ◽  
Tomáš Kadlec ◽  
Marco Ferrante ◽  
...  

Non-crop habitats can act as refuge for insects in agricultural landscapes and increase ecosystem services (ESs) in neighboring arable fields. Among the different types of non-crop habitats, field defects are temporary patches where sown plants are poorly developed and other plant species emerge. These defects can be common and large in years with extreme weather conditions. However, their relevance as habitat for beneficial insects and ESs provision is unknown. Here, we quantified two ESs (pest and weed seed predation) in field defects within oilseed rape crops and related ESs levels with the activity-density of ground beetles and temperature. In 10 fields, we used artificial caterpillars made of plasticine and seed cards of two weed species (Taraxacum sp. and Stellaria sp.) to quantify ESs in two sampling periods (spring and summer) and in three habitat types: field defects, standardly grown crop (field interiors) and crop-defect boundaries. Ground beetles were sampled using pitfall traps and classified into feeding guilds and body size classes. Insects and mammals were the main pest predators and predation increased in summer, but did not differ among habitats. Seed predation rates for both species were significantly higher in summer. Predation of Taraxacum seeds was higher at field interiors, whereas predation of Stellaria was significantly higher at field interiors and defects, compared to crop-defect boundaries. Insect predation increased with the activity-density of medium and large carnivorous carabids, whereas seed predation for both weed species was positively related to the activity-density of medium-sized herbivorous carabids. Finally, temperature was negatively linked to predation of artificial caterpillars and seeds of Taraxacum.


1988 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 19-25 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gerald E. Brust ◽  
Garfield J. House

AbstractWeed seed consumption experiments involving comparison of rates of seed loss by seed feeders were conducted over a five-week period in low-input (no insecticide, low herbicide usage) conventional- and no-tillage soybean agroecosystems. Seeds of four broadleaf weed species (ragweed[Ambrosia artemisiifoliaL.], pigweed[Amaranthus retroflexusL.], sicklepod[Cassia obtusifoliaL.], and jimsonweed[Datura stramoniumL.]) and one grain crop species (wheat[Triticum aestivumL.]) were provided in a free choice design at densities of 10, 25, and 50 seeds/24 cm3. Approximately 2.3 times more seeds overall, and 1.4 times more large seeds as a group were consumed in notillage systems than in conventional-tillage systems. In our experimental low-input, notillage treatments, large ground beetles (Carabidae: Coleoptera) (15–25 mm) and mice preferentially fed on the larger seed species, while small carabids (< 15 mm), ants and crickets, fed almost exclusively on the smaller seed species. Carabid beetles were responsible for more than half of all seeds consumed. Laboratory and field studies indicated that ground beetles selectively consumed specific seed species. In conventional-tillage, ants were one of the dominant consumers of seeds, suggesting different patterns of resource partitioning in each tillage system. We suggest that selective feeding by arthropod seed feeders, in combination with their high number, could affect the species composition and possibly the abundance of weeds in low-input, no-tillage agroecosystems.


Weed Science ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 62 (4) ◽  
pp. 619-624 ◽  
Author(s):  
Antonio DiTommaso ◽  
Matthew R. Ryan ◽  
Charles L. Mohler ◽  
Daniel C. Brainard ◽  
Rachel E. Shuler ◽  
...  

Indirect effects of insect control strategies on weed populations are important to consider when developing robust integrated pest management strategies. Weed seed predation rates were investigated in corn managed under three contrasting treatments based on control practices for corn rootworm: (1) the transgenic crop Cry3Bb Bt corn, (2) the broad-spectrum insecticide tefluthrin, and (3) no insecticide control. This 2-yr field study conducted near Ithaca, NY, involved quantifying seed loss from velvetleaf, common lambsquarters, and giant foxtail in arenas with and without vertebrate exclosures. Velvetleaf and giant foxtail were unaffected by the insecticide treatment; however, average seed predation of common lambsquarters was lower in both the Bt corn (11.9%) and insecticide-treated plots (11.8%) compared with control plots (17.5%) that did not receive any insecticide. Seed predation of common lambsquarters was not affected by the vertebrate exclosure. Lower seed predation in the transgenic Bt corn and insecticide treatments was likely due to nontarget effects on carabids (Coleoptera: Carabidae). Although the reduction in seed predation was modest and limited to only one of the three weed species tested, our results highlight the need for greater risk assessment that includes the ecosystem service of weed seed predation when considering insect pest management options.


2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Benjamin Carbonne ◽  
Sandrine Petit ◽  
Veronika Neidel ◽  
Hana Foffova ◽  
Eirini Daouti ◽  
...  

Abstract Carabids are generalist predators that contribute to the agricultural ecosystem service of seedbank regulation via weed seed predation. To facilitate adoption of this ecosystem services by farmers, knowledge of weed seed predation and the resilience of seedbank regulation with co-varying availability of alternative prey is crucial. Using assessments of the seedbank and predation on seed cards in 57 cereal fields across Europe, we demonstrate a regulatory effect on the soil seedbank, at a continental scale, by groups formed of omnivore, seed-eating (granivore + omnivore) and all species of carabids just prior to the crop-harvest. Regulation was associated with a positive relationship between the activity-density of carabids and seed predation, as measured on seed cards. We found that per capita seed consumption on the cards co-varied negatively with the biomass of alternative prey, i.e. Aphididae, Collembola and total alternative prey biomass. Our results underline the importance of weed seedbank regulation by carabids, across geographically significant scales, and indicate that the effectiveness of this biocontrol may depend on the availability of alternative prey that disrupt the weed seed predation.


Weed Science ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 64 (2) ◽  
pp. 294-302 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sharavari S. Kulkarni ◽  
Lloyd M. Dosdall ◽  
John R. Spence ◽  
Christian J. Willenborg

We used laboratory and field feeding trials to investigate adult carabid beetle preferences for three brassicaceous weed species (rapeseed, wild mustard, and field pennycress) that are pests in canola. All carabid species preferred seeds of rapeseed most and those of field pennycress least and showed intermediate preference for wild mustard seeds. Beetles highly preferred imbibed seeds of all three weed species. Activity–density of carabids and mean weed seed removal were highly correlated in field plots of canola, with activity–density accounting for 67% of the observed variation in seed removal. Our study indicates that seed consumption among carabids is influenced by several factors, including weed species, physiological state of seeds, and carabid activity–density. Carabid seed predation is significant in canola agroecosystems; therefore, understanding these influences has implications for ecological weed management.


2008 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. L. McMullin ◽  
A. R. Jacobsen ◽  
D. C. Carvan ◽  
R. J. Gardner ◽  
J. A. Goegan ◽  
...  

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-22
Author(s):  
Michael J. Walsh ◽  
Annie E. Rayner ◽  
Annie Rutledge ◽  
John C. Broster

Abstract Chaff lining and chaff tramlining are harvest weed seed control (HWSC) systems that involve the concentration of weed seed containing chaff material into narrow (20 to 30 cm) rows between or on the harvester wheel tracks during harvest. These lines of chaff are left intact in the fields through subsequent cropping seasons in the assumption that the chaff environment is unfavourable for weed seed survival. The chaff row environment effect on weed seed survival was examined in field studies, while chaff response studies determined the influence of increasing amounts of chaff on weed seedling emergence. The objectives of these studies were to determine 1) the influence of chaff lines on the summer-autumn seed survival of selected weed species; and 2) the influence of chaff type and amount on rigid ryegrass seedling emergence. There was frequently no difference (P>0.05) in survival of seed of four weed species (rigid ryegrass, wild oat, annual sowthistle and turnip weed) when these seed were placed beneath or beside chaff lines. There was one instance where wild oat seed survival was increased (P<0.05) when seed were placed beneath compared to beside a chaff line. The pot studies determined that increasing amounts of chaff consistently resulted in decreasing numbers of rigid ryegrass seedlings emerging through chaff material. The suppression of emergence broadly followed a linear relationship where there was approximately a 2.0% reduction in emergence with every 1.0 t ha-1 increase in chaff material. This relationship was consistent across wheat, barley, canola and lupin chaff types, indicating that the physical presence of the chaff was more important than chaff type. These studies indicated that chaff lines may not affect the over summer-autumn survival of the contained weed seeds but the subsequent emergence of weed seedlings will be restricted by high amounts of chaff (>40 t ha-1).


2000 ◽  
Vol 77 (3) ◽  
pp. 193-202 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fabián D Menalled ◽  
Paul C Marino ◽  
Karen A Renner ◽  
Douglas A Landis

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