Abstract
Overreliance on pesticides has large environmental and human health costs that compel researchers and farmers to seek alternative management tactics for crop pests. For insect pests, increasing crop species diversity via intercropping and using semiochemicals to alter local arthropod populations have separately proven effective at reducing pest densities. Here, we combine these two tactics in an effort to gain better control of Sitobion avenae (Fabricius) (Hemiptera: Aphididae), the English grain aphid, a major pest of cereal production worldwide. We conducted field experiments over 2 years testing the effectiveness of combining intercropping of wheat and oilseed rape with release of methyl salicylate (MeSA). We found that maximum and mean aphid densities were highest in wheat monocultures, significantly lower in intercropped plots and MeSA plots, and lowest when intercropping and MeSA release were combined by obtaining highest densities of predatory lady beetles and parasitoids rates. Importantly, grain yield and quality showed a similar pattern: they were highest for combined intercropped/MeSA plots, intermediate in plots with intercropping or MeSA alone, and lowest in control monoculture plots. Our results suggest that combining these two tactics holds significant promise for improved management of aphid populations and emphasize the need to integrate alternative pest control approaches to optimize sustainable insect pest management.
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Claims 7
Claim · model-written summary
Intercropping wheat with oilseed rape significantly lowered maximum and mean aphid densities compared with wheat monocultures.
- Taxon
- wheat
Triticum aestivumt0 - Treatment
- intercropping of wheat and oilseed rapee1
- Interactor
- Sitobion avenae
Sitobion avenaee3pest - Outcome
- maximum and mean aphid densitiese2
- Direction
- lowere2
- Comparator
- wheat monoculturese2
- Setting
- field experimentse1
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
t0“wheat crops”
e1“We conducted field experiments over 2 years testing the effectiveness of combining intercropping of wheat and oilseed rape with release of methyl salicylate (MeSA)”
e2“We found that maximum and mean aphid densities were highest in wheat monocultures, significantly lower in intercropped plots and MeSA plots”
e3“control of Sitobion avenae (Fabricius) (Hemiptera: Aphididae), the English grain aphid”
Claim · model-written summary
Release of methyl salicylate significantly lowered maximum and mean aphid densities compared with wheat monocultures.
- Taxon
- wheatTriticum aestivumt0
- Treatment
- release of methyl salicylate (MeSA)e1
- Interactor
- Sitobion avenaeSitobion avenaee3pest
- Outcome
- maximum and mean aphid densitiese2
- Direction
- lowere2
- Comparator
- wheat monoculturese2
- Setting
- field experimentse1
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
t0“wheat crops”
e1“We conducted field experiments over 2 years testing the effectiveness of combining intercropping of wheat and oilseed rape with release of methyl salicylate (MeSA)”
e2“We found that maximum and mean aphid densities were highest in wheat monocultures, significantly lower in intercropped plots and MeSA plots”
e3“control of Sitobion avenae (Fabricius) (Hemiptera: Aphididae), the English grain aphid”
Claim · model-written summary
Combining intercropping with MeSA release gave the lowest maximum and mean aphid densities.
- Taxon
- wheatTriticum aestivumt0
- Treatment
- intercropping and MeSA release were combinede2
- Interactor
- Sitobion avenaeSitobion avenaee3pest
- Outcome
- maximum and mean aphid densitiese1
- Direction
- loweste2
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
t0“wheat crops”
e1“We found that maximum and mean aphid densities were highest in wheat monocultures, significantly lower in intercropped plots and MeSA plots”
e2“lowest when intercropping and MeSA release were combined”
e3“control of Sitobion avenae (Fabricius) (Hemiptera: Aphididae), the English grain aphid”
Claim · model-written summary
Combined intercropping and MeSA release gave the highest densities of predatory lady beetles and parasitoids.
- Taxon
- wheatTriticum aestivumt0
- Treatment
- intercropping and MeSA release were combinede1
- Interactor
- predatory lady beetlese2biocontrol_agent
- Second interactor
- parasitoidse2biocontrol_agent
- Outcome
- densities of predatory lady beetles and parasitoidse2
- Direction
- higheste2
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
t0“wheat crops”
e1“lowest when intercropping and MeSA release were combined”
e2“obtaining highest densities of predatory lady beetles and parasitoids rates”
Claim · model-written summary
Grain yield and quality were highest in combined intercropped/MeSA plots compared with control monoculture plots.
- Taxon
- wheatTriticum aestivumt0
- Treatment
- combined intercropped/MeSA plotse1
- Outcome
- grain yield and qualitye1
- Direction
- higheste1
- Comparator
- control monoculture plotse1
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
t0“wheat crops”
e1“Importantly, grain yield and quality showed a similar pattern: they were highest for combined intercropped/MeSA plots, intermediate in plots with intercropping or MeSA alone, and lowest in control monoculture plots”
Claim · model-written summary
Grain yield and quality were intermediate in plots with intercropping or MeSA alone.
- Taxon
- wheatTriticum aestivumt0
- Treatment
- intercropping or MeSA alonee1
- Outcome
- grain yield and qualitye1
- Direction
- intermediatee1
- Comparator
- combined intercropped/MeSA plotse1
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
t0“wheat crops”
e1“Importantly, grain yield and quality showed a similar pattern: they were highest for combined intercropped/MeSA plots, intermediate in plots with intercropping or MeSA alone, and lowest in control monoculture plots”
Claim · model-written summary
Combining intercropping and semiochemical release holds significant promise for improved management of aphid populations in wheat.
- Taxon
- wheatTriticum aestivumt0
- Treatment
- combining these two tacticse1
- Outcome
- management of aphid populationse1
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
t0“wheat crops”
e1“Our results suggest that combining these two tactics holds significant promise for improved management of aphid populations”
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See all 14 papers →Claims are grouped by organism, treatment and what was measured or targeted. A paper counts as positive when any of its claims in the group is positive.