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138 results for “Pest control”

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dryad36/100

More intraguild prey than pest species in arachnid diets may compromise biological control in apple orchards

Understanding the full diet of natural enemies is necessary for evaluating their role as biocontrol agents, because many enemy species do not only feed on pests but also on other natural enemies. Such intraguild predation can compromise pest control if the consumed enemies are actually better for pest control than their predators. In this study, we used gut metabarcoding to quantify diets of all common arachnid species in Swedish and Spanish apple orchards. For this purpose, we designed new primers that reduce amplification of arachnid predators while retaining high amplification of all prey group. Results suggest that most arachnids consume a large range of putative pest species on apple but also a high proportion of other natural enemies, where the latter constitute almost a third of all prey sequences. Intraguild predation also varied between regions, with a larger content of heteropteran bugs in arachnid guts from Spanish orchards. There was also a tendency for cursorial spiders to have more intraguild prey in the gut than web spiders. Two groups that may be overlooked as important biocontrol agents in apple orchards seem to be theridiid web spiders and opilionids, where the latter had several small-bodied pest species in the gut. These results thus provide important guidance for what arachnid groups that should be targets of management actions, even though additional information is needed to quantify all direct and indirect interactions occurring in the complex arthropod food webs in fruit orchards.

opencc-zeroOct 2021View details →

dryad36/100

Management intensity affects insect pests and natural pest control on Arabica coffee in its native range

Agroforestry systems provide opportunities to reduce the trade-off between agricultural production and biodiversity, for example by enhancing a diverse community of species potentially acting as natural pest control agents. While management of agroforestry systems is intensifying across the globe, we lack insights into the impact of management intensity on pest levels and natural pest control, especially along broad management gradients and as compared with natural forests. We assessed the impact of management intensity on major insect pests (the coffee blotch miner, the serpentine leaf miner, the coffee leaf skeletonizer, and damage by other free-feeding herbivores) and natural pest control by parasitoid wasps across sixty sites in the center of origin of Arabica coffee in southwestern Ethiopia. Within this region, coffee is growing along a broad management gradient ranging from little or no management in the natural forest to intensively managed commercial plantations. In the wet season, pest levels were largely similar in the natural forest, semi-forest, and semi-plantation systems, whereas pests reached outbreak densities in the most intensively managed plantation system. In contrast, management intensity did not significantly affect pest levels in the dry season. The insect pests differed in their seasonal dynamics, consistently declined with elevation, and were largely unaffected by shade levels. Parasitism rate of the coffee blotch miner was lower, and the parasitoid community was distinct, in the most intensively managed plantation system. Synthesis and applications: Our findings support the hypothesis that the weaker top-down control by parasitoids in the intensively managed plantation sites leads to higher pest levels, and that – at least for some pest species – there is a threshold in the effect of management intensity on pest levels and natural pest control. It is important to consider such non-linear relationships to maintain or enhance the sustainability of agroforestry systems during management intensification. Overall, our findings highlight that ecological knowledge of natural pest control can be used to intensify production to improve the livelihood of smallholders without jeopardizing natural pest control, at least up to a certain point.

opencc-zeroApr 2023View details →

dryad36/100

Data from: A novel protein-based fruit fly trap in melon flies Bactrocera cucurbitae for effective pest control management

Agriculture remains a major source of subsistence for local communities in India. However, agricultural yield can be strongly affected by agricultural pest outbreaks. This can result in economic losses for small-scale farmers who already experience socioeconomic challenges, such as lack of appropriate infrastructure and subsidies. Sophisticated pest management techniques (e.g., sterile insect technique) are less accessible to small farmers in developing countries and therefore, alternative cost-effective approaches for pest management are needed. Here, we report our findings of a three-year-long field trial (2018 to 2020) in India which was designed to test for the potential effectiveness of a novel, slow-release formulation protein-based trap, compared to standard Cuelure traps against melon flies Bactrocera cucurbitae (Diptera: Tephritidae). Protein-bait traps can attract flies from both sexes (as opposed to males-only, chemical traps), bearing the potential to have greater long-term impact on pest populations by decreasing future reproductive potential of trapped individuals. We found that Cuelure had overall higher trapping performance, while protein-bait traps, despite trapping at lower efficiency, were equally effective for males and females. Simulations with our field data revealed that protein-bait traps can have an 'inclusive' advantage by trapping females and thereby preventing future individuals. Overall, our study highlights the potential benefits of using this alternative trapping technique to supplement pest management in developing countries.

opencc-zeroAug 2023View details →

dryad36/100

Tree species richness around urban red maples reduces pest abundance but does not enhance biological control

Urban trees often host greater insect pest abundance than trees in rural forests. This may be due, in part, to differences in tree diversity and canopy cover between these settings. Urban trees are often planted in isolation or monoculture, which favors pest accumulation. The gloomy scale, Melanaspis tenebricosa Comstock, is a pest of urban red maples (Acer rubrum L.) that is abundant where impervious surfaces dominate the local landscape. Increasing tree diversity and canopy cover around urban red maples may reduce gloomy scale abundance by supporting natural enemy communities. We investigated the effect that surrounding tree species richness and tree canopy cover had on gloomy scale abundance, natural enemy abundance, and biological control in red maple trees in Raleigh, NC, USA. We collected scales and natural enemies from red maples that spanned a gradient of tree species richness, canopy cover, and impervious surface values. We also measured gloomy scale parasitism and predation of sentinel prey in red maple canopies. Greater tree species richness and canopy cover were associated with lower gloomy scale density. Red maples in diverse settings also hosted fewer scales per natural enemy. Parasitoids were less common in maples in diverse settings, but generalist predator abundance was unaffected by tree diversity. Finally, tree species richness and canopy cover did not increase biological control of scales or sentinel prey. Our findings suggest that higher tree diversity and greater canopy cover may reduce gloomy scale density, but this is not entirely explained by the effects of natural enemies and biological control.

opencc-zeroOct 2023View details →

dryad36/100