Veronica Hederström
Forskare
Dispersal and spatiotemporal distribution of Protapion fulvipes in white clover fields : implications for pest management
Författare
Summary, in English
Yield loss caused by insect pests remains a substantial problem in agriculture. Chemical control, with potential negative effects on non-target organisms, is still the main tool for pest management. For pest species with limited dispersal capacity, rotation of the crop in time and space has potential as an alternative management measure. This is particularly important in organic farming, where most agrochemicals are prohibited, but also relevant as a complementary pest management strategy in conventional agriculture. Clover is an important crop used for animal feed and as green manure; however, seed-eating weevils can severely limit the seed yield. We hypothesized that the previous year’s clover seed fields constitute the major sources of weevil pests. Consequently, a greater distance to, and a smaller pest load from, this source should reduce the number of weevils colonizing the new seed fields. To map population dynamics and dispersal range of Protapion fulvipes, an economically important seed weevil specialized on white clover, we conducted field studies over four years in 45 white clover seed fields. We found that P. fulvipes overwinters close to its source field and disperses to new fields in early spring the following year. Pest abundance increased with pest load in the previous year’s seed field, but decreased by 68% per km distance to the previous year’s field. Thus, separation of seed production fields between years by 2–3 km would create a spatiotemporal pest management tool to reduce the pest infestation below the estimated economic injury level.
Avdelning/ar
- BECC: Biodiversity and Ecosystem services in a Changing Climate
- Centrum för miljö- och klimatvetenskap (CEC)
- Biologiska institutionen
Publiceringsår
2022
Språk
Engelska
Sidor
917-930
Publikation/Tidskrift/Serie
Journal of Pest Science
Volym
95
Issue
2
Dokumenttyp
Artikel i tidskrift
Förlag
Springer
Ämne
- Agricultural Science
Nyckelord
- Agricultural pest
- Clover seed production
- Dispersal distance
- Trifolium repens
- White clover seed weevil
Status
Published
Projekt
- Biological control of insect pests in clover seed crops
ISBN/ISSN/Övrigt
- ISSN: 1612-4758