Perennial flower strips for pest control in organic apple orchards - A pan-European study

Cahenzli, Fabian; Sigsgaard, Lene; Daniel, Claudia; Herz, Annette; Jamar, Laurent; Kelderer, Markus; Jacobsen, S.; Kruczyńska, D.; Mátray, Silvia; Porcel, Mario; Sekrecka, M.; Świergiel, Weronika; Tasin, Marco; Telfser, Josef; Pfiffner, Lukas

doi:10.1016/j.agee.2019.03.011

Cited by 52 publications

(60 citation statements)

References 47 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Seven studies on effects of flower strips for pest control in apple orchards were published during the early 20-year period of our review (1987–2007). Research on this topic boomed during the last decade (2008–2018), resulting in nine studies plus the one published just recently by Cahenzli et al within the framework of the research project EcoOrchard [57]. The effect of flower strips has most often been assessed on sap-feeding insects, principally aphids.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In a pan-European study in organic apple orchards, perennial flower strips with native plant species sown between tree rows not only generally increased plant diversity as compared with the spontaneous orchard vegetation, but also clearly boosted flowering forbs, which are known to promote functional biodiversity [70]. As a result, flower strips significantly increased the number of Syrphidae, Chrysopidae and generalist predators (Anthocoridae, Miridae and spiders) on apple trees and in particular natural enemies in D. plantaginea colonies [57]. This led to a slower increase in D. plantaginea populations in plots with flower strips as compared with control plots and thus reduced fruit damage after the second fruit drop.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The full effect of adding floral diversity to an orchard, in terms of reducing insect pests and promoting their natural enemies, can take years to unfold, thus being longer than the duration of most research projects. For instance, from the second to the third year after the establishment of flower strips in orchards in the pan-European study of Cahenzli et al, the number of preadult codling moths in cardboard traps decreased more in the flower strip plots as compared with the control plots, resulting in reduced fruit damage [57]. The authors suggest that the benefits of an established perennial flower strip may be best observed over a more prolonged period.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Although pest control through natural enemies’ enhancement by flower strips is not always guaranteed, flower strips offer a promising agri-environmental scheme. In the recent study of Cahenzli et al [57], it was found that omnivorous Forficulidae and generalist predators (including spiders, Anthocoridae and Miridae) were not as much attracted by the presence of D. plantaginea as aphid specialists such as Syrphidae, Chrysopidae, and Coccinellidae. Therefore, the authors suggested that the presence of the important generalists was not dependent on the density of aphids but was enhanced by flower strips.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 3 more Smart Citations

Managing Floral Resources in Apple Orchards for Pest Control: Ideas, Experiences and Future Directions

Herz

Cahenzli

Penvern

et al. 2019

Insects

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Functional biodiversity is of fundamental importance for pest control. Many natural enemies rely on floral resources to complete their life cycle. Farmers need to ensure the availability of suitable and sufficient floral biodiversity. This review summarizes 66 studies on the management of floral biodiversity in apple orchards, published since 1986. Approaches followed different degrees of intervention: short-term practices (mowing regime and weed maintenance, cover crops), establishment of durable ecological infrastructures (perennial flower strips, hedgerows) and re-design of the crop system (intercropping, agroforestry). Although short-term practices did not always target the nutrition of natural enemies by flowering plants, living conditions for them (alternative prey, provision of habitat) were often improved. Perennial flower strips reliably enhanced natural enemies and techniques for their introduction continuously developed. Resident natural enemies and their impact in pest control reacted positively to the introduction of a more diversified vegetation, whereas the response of very mobile organisms was often not directly linked to the measures taken. A careful selection and management of plants with particular traits exploitable by most natural enemies emerged as a key-point for success. Now the elaborated design of such measures needs to be adopted by stakeholders and policy makers to encourage farmers to implement these measures in their orchards.

show abstract

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Managing Floral Resources in Apple Orchards for Pest Control: Ideas, Experiences and Future Directions

Herz

Cahenzli

Penvern

et al. 2019

Insects

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…The community diversity and the functional diversity of wild plants in agroecosystems, especially in field edges, fallow fields, and other semi-natural habitats, provide us with ecosystem and agricultural production services [1][2][3] , such as agricultural pest control and soil and water conservation [4][5][6][7] . The diversity of wild plants in agroecosystems is an important part of global biodiversity 8 .…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of herbicides on non-target plant species diversity and the community composition of fallow fields in northern China

Guan

et al. 2020

Sci Rep

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Despite the important ecological and agricultural production value of fallow field vegetation in agricultural landscapes, it is often affected by herbicide drift and runoff from neighboring sprayed fields. However, little is known about the impact of herbicides on the non-target plant community of fallow fields. In this study, the plant community of fallow fields was investigated following annual sublethal exposure to atrazine or tribenuron-methyl by a 3-year (2014-2016) randomized block field study. The two herbicides both changed the species composition, reduced the number of plant species and the relative frequencies of some plants, and significantly reduced the Margalef species richness index and Shannon's diversity index of the plant community in the fallow field. The effects of the two herbicides on species number and community composition were not consistent. The effects of herbicide doses less than the recommended field application concentration (RFAC) on the plant community composition and community diversity of the fallow field were not lower than the effects of the RFAC of the herbicides. Indeed, doses less than the RFAC had an even greater impact on the community diversity than the RFAC of the herbicides. As the number of years of herbicide application increased, the effects of the herbicides on the plant community diversity did not increase compared to the effects of the blank control, and the herbicides did not change the functional composition of the plant communities in the fallow field. Our results suggest that the ecological risks of herbicides, even at low concentrations, on non-target wild plant communities in agricultural landscapes should not be neglected in the development of practical plant diversity conservation strategies.

show abstract

Assessing flower‐visiting arthropod diversity in apple orchards through metabarcoding of environmental DNA from flowers and visual census

et al. 2022

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Arthropods are essential in maintaining healthy and productive agricultural ecosystems. Agricultural crops such as apples are typically pollinated by domesticated honey bees, but wild bees and other arthropod flower visitors also contribute to pollination. Flower visitors can also be natural enemies of crop‐pests or herbivores. Biodiversity is under pressure and knowledge of wildflower visitors is an important tool in designing orchards that can support high functional biodiversity. In our study, we assessed the diversity of arthropod flower visitors in four Danish apple orchards using both molecular and nonmolecular techniques to study arthropod communities in agricultural ecosystems. Arthropod DNA collected from apple flowers was analyzed using a DNA metabarcoding approach using the mitochondrial COI marker, while arthropod pollinators were recorded through visual assessment surveys. These complementary techniques resulted in a total of 19 arthropod taxa detected. Nonbee arthropods constituted a large proportion of arthropods detected by both methods (84%, 16 taxa). Metabarcoding detected 12 taxa and had 83% species resolution. Visual census recovered flower visiting groups to the order level (Coleoptera, Diptera, Hymenoptera and Lepidoptera) but not species level and also provided relative abundance data, which is not possible with molecular methods. We demonstrated that by utilizing both molecular and nonmolecular techniques to assess arthropod communities, we are able to obtain a broader overview of the arthropod fauna present. The methodology used and the outcome of this study can be used to inform and tailor suitable arthropod‐pest management practices in orchards to increase crop yield and maintain healthy agricultural systems.

show abstract

Perennial flower strips for pest control in organic apple orchards - A pan-European study

Cited by 52 publications

References 47 publications

Managing Floral Resources in Apple Orchards for Pest Control: Ideas, Experiences and Future Directions

Managing Floral Resources in Apple Orchards for Pest Control: Ideas, Experiences and Future Directions

Effects of herbicides on non-target plant species diversity and the community composition of fallow fields in northern China

Assessing flower‐visiting arthropod diversity in apple orchards through metabarcoding of environmental DNA from flowers and visual census

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About