| 1. |
- Porcel Vilches, Mario, et al.
(author)
-
Organic management in apple orchards: Higher impacts on biological control than on pollination
- 2018
-
In: Journal of Applied Ecology. - : Wiley. - 0021-8901 .- 1365-2664. ; 55, s. 2779-2789
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- 1. Intensive agricultural management negatively affects both natural enemies of pests and pollinators. Such management also has the potential to adversely affect the ecosystem services that these communities confer. Organic management has been proposed as an alternative method to mitigate such problems by restoring the services provided by arthropod communities.2. We evaluated the effect of organic management on two ecosystem services provided by arthropods in apple orchards: pollination and biological control. We used relative decrease in colonies to assess biological control of the major apple aphid pest, and measured pollination through fruit set, number of seeds per apple and pollinator visitation. Additionally, we monitored the organisms responsible for pollination and biological control services and established the impact of pollination on apple quality.3. Our results show a strong effect of organic management on biological control and on the temporal dynamic of natural enemy-pest interactions. Parameters such as aphid colony suppression, first and repeated occurrence of natural enemies, natural enemy species evenness and natural enemy abundance were significantly higher in organic compared to conventional orchards. Predatory bugs were the natural enemies best-affected by organic management and played a key role in early predation of aphids preventing colony growth.4. In this instance, pollination was not influenced by organic management. It is likely due to the temporal scale at which this service is delivered, a scale that differs greatly from biological control, combined with differences in the dispersal capacity of the organisms involved. Fruit weight, calcium, potassium and magnesium content were positively affected by pollination success.5. Synthesis and applications. We found that organic management in apple orchards preserves the local natural enemy community, and specifically predatory bug populations, essential for early aphid colony suppression. Our results suggest that, in conventional orchards, local management options that decrease or even eliminate pesticide use early in the season would increase the biological control of aphids. This would lead to reduction in apple damage at harvest. Our results on pollination success indicate that the implementation of organic management at orchard scale does not enhance pollination services for apple growers.
|
|
| 2. |
- Porcel Vilches, Mario, et al.
(author)
-
The effect of resident vegetation cover on abundance and diversity of green lacewings (Neuroptera: Chrysopidae) on olive trees
- 2017
-
In: Journal of Pest Science. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1612-4758 .- 1612-4766. ; 90, s. 195-206
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Understorey habitats are optimal ecological structures for natural enemy enhancement in fruit orchards. A large-scale experiment was carried out to establish the effect of resident vegetation cover (VC) on green lacewings as compared to bare soil, the dominant soil management strategy used in Spanish olive orchards. Lacewings were sampled using baited McPhail traps for adults, and suction was used to collect adults and larvae from olive canopies. Additionally, we monitored the presence of the lacewing's main target pest, olive moth eggs, as well as VC composition and density. McPhail trapping showed higher Chrysopidae abundances in VC plots during two consecutive years even though flowering plants represented 29.7 % of the total. Multivariate analysis identified Chrysoperla carnea s.l. and Pseudomallada prasinus as contributing to differences in abundance. VC slightly increased capture diversity; however, no specific link between any Chrysopidae species and VC was detected. No differences were observed in individuals collected through suction in 2009, which could be attributed to low sampling efficiency. In 2010, when sampling was increased considerably, higher adult and larval abundances were recorded in VC only with respect to C. carnea s.l. A delay was detected between McPhail captures and suction collection peaks. The fact that VC promoted higher abundance detected earlier through trapping, and later on olive canopies through suction, coinciding with P. oleae presence, suggests that resident VC may contribute to a build-up of green lacewing populations moving onto the crop at the time of the pest attack.
|
|
| 3. |
- Cotes Ramal, Belén, et al.
(author)
-
Using flower strips to promote green lacewings to control cabbage insect pests
- 2022
-
In: Journal of Pest Science. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1612-4758 .- 1612-4766. ; 95, s. 669-683
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Habitat management improves biological control by increasing the abundance and fitness of natural enemies through the provision of floral resources along field edges or between crops. Among the natural enemies reliant on flower resources, green lacewings often stand out due to their abundance, predation capacity and polyphagy. We evaluated the impact of tailored flower strips on the enhancement of natural enemies, especially green lacewings, in three organic cabbage (Brassica oleracea) farms in Southern Sweden. Insects were sampled from the flower strips, and cabbage pests and predators were visually recorded in the crop. In a laboratory assay, the pollen feeding preferences of Chrysoperla carnea (Stephens, 1836) were evaluated in a dual-choice test. The pollen consumed by the Chrysopidae was extracted from laboratory and field specimens, then quantified and identified. Flower strips were found to attract predators and parasitoids, whose abundance increased as flowers bloomed. Cabbage plants next to the flower strips showed lower pest infestation as compared to cabbage plant control, although no significant differences were observed in the number of predators. Chrysopidae used flower strips as feeding, reproduction and shelter sites and mainly consumed pollen from Phacelia tanacetifolia Benth. Under laboratory conditions, C. carnea showed a preference for P. tanacetifolia and Coriandrum sativum L. pollen over Borago officinalis L. and Fagopyrum esculentum Moench. We show that tailored flower strips could be an efficient tool for enhancing beneficial arthropods and should be considered in integrated pest management for cabbage crops.
|
|
| 4. |
- Hambäck, Peter A., et al.
(author)
-
Predatory arthropod community composition in apple orchards : Orchard management, landscape structure and sampling method
- 2021
-
In: Journal of Applied Entomology. - : Wiley. - 0931-2048 .- 1439-0418. ; 145:44198, s. 46-54
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Studies on predatory arthropods in agricultural areas seldom include Diptera other than hoverflies, partly because common sampling methods are less effective for capturing species that easily fly off when disturbed. To study the effect from this bias when describing the predator community, we compared traditional beat sampling of branches and suction sampling for describing the community of predatory arthropods in Swedish apple orchards, both organic orchards and orchards using integrated pest management (IPM). Our results indicate that the proportion of both predatory dipterans and parasitic hymenopterans increase dramatically when using suction sampling (Diptera: 32% vs. 20%, Hymenoptera: 25% vs. 7%). In fact, predatory dipterans were the most abundant predatory group when using suction sampling, in contrast to beat sampling where spiders were the most abundant group. One group of predatory flies that was particularly rich in both species and individuals in the surveyed apple orchards was dance flies in the family Hybotidae. Even though the bias of sampling method was evident, it was encouraging that the method choice did not affect the conclusions concerning management on predatory arthropod communities. With both methods, dipteran and coleopteran predators were more abundant in organic apple orchards whereas opilionids were more abundant in orchards managed according to IPM. The inclusion of landscape variables further indicated effects of landscape diversity and of deciduous forest cover, but the response varied in sign between predatory groups. Whereas both Coleoptera and Heteroptera were more abundant in orchards surrounded by more complex landscapes (high landscape diversity and/or high deciduous forest cover), spiders, opilionids and dipterans were rather less abundant in these orchards. To conclude, our study points to the potential importance of predatory dipterans in apple orchards, and we highly recommend future studies of arthropod predators in apple and other crops to actively include predatory Diptera.
|
|
| 5. |
- Happe, Anne-Kathrin, et al.
(author)
-
Predatory arthropods in apple orchards across Europe : Responses to agricultural management, adjacent habitat, landscape composition and country
- 2019
-
In: Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment. - : Elsevier BV. - 0167-8809 .- 1873-2305. ; 273, s. 141-150
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Local agri-environmental schemes, including hedgerows, flowering strips, organic management, and a landscape rich in semi-natural habitat patches, are assumed to enhance the presence of beneficial arthropods and their contribution to biological control in fruit crops. We studied the influence of local factors (orchard management and adjacent habitats) and of landscape composition on the abundance and community composition of predatory arthropods in apple orchards in three European countries. To elucidate how local and landscape factors influence natural enemy effectiveness in apple production systems, we calculated community energy use as a proxy for the communities' predation potential based on biomass and metabolic rates of predatory arthropods. Predator communities were assessed by standardised beating samples taken from apple trees in 86 orchards in Germany, Spain and Sweden. Orchard management included integrated production (IP; i.e. the reduced and targeted application of synthetic agrochemicals), and organic management practices in all three countries. Predator communities differed between management types and countries. Several groups, including beetles (Coleoptera), predatory bugs (Heteroptera), flies (Diptera) and spiders (Araneae) benefited from organic management depending on country. Woody habitat and IP supported harvestmen (Opiliones). In both IP and organic orchards we detected aversive influences of a high-quality surrounding landscape on some predator groups: for example, high covers of woody habitat reduced earwig abundances in German orchards but enhanced their abundance in Sweden, and high natural plant species richness tended to reduce predatory bug abundance in Sweden and IP orchards in Spain. We conclude that predatory arthropod communities and influences of local and landscape factors are strongly shaped by orchard management, and that the influence of management differs between countries. Our results indicate that organic management improves the living conditions for effective predator communities.
|
|
| 6. |
- Nilsson, Ulf, et al.
(author)
-
Förstärkt växtskydd med blommande växter : i grönsaks- och fruktodling
- 2017
-
Other publication (other academic/artistic)abstract
- I dag finns ett stort intresse bland odlare och rådgivare för biologiska växtskyddsmetoder, speciellt i grönsaks- och fruktodling. Syftet med denna rapport är att förmedla resultat från aktuell forskning som studerat olika metoder för att förbättra biologisk bekämpning genom att gynna olika skadegörares naturliga fiender. Rapporten är en kortad och översatt version av en kunskapssyntes utgiven av EPOK 2016: ”Habitat manipulation – as a pest management tool in vegetable and fruit cropping systems, with focus on insects and mites”, författad av Ulf Nilsson, Mario Porcel, Weronika Świergiel och Maria Wivstad. Jordbruksverket har ansvarat för översättning och textbearbetning som gjorts av Birgitta Rämert och Elisabeth Ögren. Rapporten innehåller även ett tillägg med bilder från svenska odlingar. Merparten av bilderna är från gårdar som medverkar i Jordbruksverkets utvecklingsprojekt ”Biodiversitet i frilandsodling” som startade 2015. Elisabeth Ögren och Johan Ascard, Jordbruksverket, har skrivit bildtexterna i det avsnittet. Med denna kortare rapport vill vi göra materialet från kunskapssyntesen mer lättillgängligt och inspirera till att utveckla biologiska bekämpningsmetoder i praktisk odling.
|
|
| 7. |
|
|
| 8. |
- Porcel Vilches, Mario, et al.
(author)
-
Design, implementation and management of perennial flower strips to promote functional agrobiodiversity in organic apple orchards: A pan-European study
- 2019
-
In: Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment. - : Elsevier BV. - 0167-8809 .- 1873-2305. ; 278, s. 61-71
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Orchards, as intensive cropping systems, often have low diversity of plant species, which limits the promotion of natural enemies for pest control. The implementation of agri-environmental schemes, such as flower strips, could enhance biological control. We developed perennial, multifunctional flower strips with native plant species. In the second and third year after sowing, plant diversity and ground cover between flower strips (FS) in the drive alleys and the spontaneous orchard vegetation in control plots (Cont) were compared in 19 experimental blocks of eight organic apple orchards in six European countries. On average 73.7% of the sown plant species were established and plant diversity of FS was on average 43% higher than in Cont. Multivariate analysis further revealed significant dissimilarities in the plant communities of the two treatments. Intensive mulching of flower strips also affected the plant community: species richness and ground cover by forbs and plants, which especially promote functional agrobiodiversity (FAB plants), decreased significantly. We show that perennial FS with native plants are a valuable approach to enrich plant diversity in orchards in different European countries. Limitations and recommendations for the implementation and management of FS in orchards are discussed.
|
|
| 9. |
- Porcel Vilches, Mario, et al.
(author)
-
Monitoring methods adapted to different perceptions and uses of functional biodiversity: Insights from a European qualitative study
- 2021
-
In: Ecological Indicators. - : Elsevier BV. - 1470-160X .- 1872-7034. ; 129
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The role of functional biodiversity for favouring natural regulation and reducing pesticide use in fruit production is generally acknowledged. Although a number of farmers attempt to favour biodiversity through different strategies (e.g. diversified hedges, nesting boxes), they often lack means to evaluate how their actions contribute in practice to functional biodiversity. We assumed here that to create useful and appropriate monitoring methods, it is necessary to take into account the variety of knowledge, perceptions and interests about functional biodiversity. To test our hypothesis, we adopted a comprehensive and participative approach based on interviews and workshops with farmers, advisors and field agronomists involved in apple orchard management. Our objective was to understand their different perceptions and uses of functional biodiversity and then, to design monitoring methods adapted to those perceptions and pre-existing uses. Our findings revealed both a plurality of perceptions of functional biodiversity along with a diversity of objectives and uses of monitoring methods. Based on these results, we identified four main attitudes towards the management of functional biodiversity: the wait-and-see attitude, the naturalist attitude, the regulation attitude and the multifunctional attitude. These attitudes do not correspond to person's profiles, since one person can adopt different attitudes in regard to different biodiversity components or in regard to the different practices supporting biodiversity. In addition, attitudes can vary over time. The identification of these attitudes allowed us to design, with the workshops' participants, a guiding framework to create monitoring programs (i.e. combinations of monitoring methods) adapted to a variety of uses and targeted services.
|
|
| 10. |
- Porcel Vilches, Mario, et al.
(author)
-
Perennial flower strips for pest control in organic apple orchards - A pan-European study
- 2019
-
In: Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment. - : Elsevier BV. - 0167-8809 .- 1873-2305. ; 278, s. 43-53
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- In many crops, the intensive use of pesticides causes major problems both for the environment and for natural ecosystem services. Apple is Europe's most frequently produced orchard fruit, requiring high pesticide input to combat the most important apple insect pests, Dysaphis plantaginea (Passerini) and Cydia pomonella (L.). Here we sought to control these pests by promoting natural enemies using sown perennial flower strips. We trialled these in the alleyways of organic apple orchards in seven European countries. Visual assessments over two years revealed a higher number of natural enemies on plant parts, and specifically in D. plantaginea colonies on trees, in flower strip plots than on trees in control plots with standard orchard vegetation. Trees in the flower strip plots recorded a slower D. plantaginea population increase as compared with control plots, resulting in reduced fruit damage after the second fruit drop. Likewise, from 2016-2017, the number of preadult codling moths decreased more in the flower strip plots as compared to the control plots resulting in reduced fruit damage. Our study shows on a wide continental scale that the implementation of perennial flower strips in the. alleyways between apple tree rows boosts natural enemies and reduces key apple pests and the associated fruit damage. This supports the role of functional agrobiodiversity as a way to potentially reduce insecticide use in orchards and thus further promote conservation of agrobiodiversity. We also provide suggested plant composition for flower strips adapted to different European countries and recommendations for implementation and management in practice.
|
|
