Organic Farming and Cover-Crop Management Reduce Pest Predation in Austrian Vineyards
2021
Habitat simplification and intensive use of pesticides are main drivers of global arthropod
declines and are, thus, decreasing natural pest control. Organic farming, complex landscapes, and
local vineyard management practices such as implementation of flower-rich cover-crop mixtures may
be a promising approach to enhance predator abundance and, therefore, natural pest control. We
examined the effect of organic versus integrated management, cover-crop diversity in the vineyard
inter-rows, and landscape composition on the natural pest control of Lobesia botrana eggs and pupae.
Predation of L. botrana pupae was reduced by organic farming and species-poor cover-crops by about
10%. Predation rates of L. botrana eggs did not differ significantly in any of the studied management
options. Dominant predators were earwigs (Forficulidae), bush crickets (Tettigoniidae), and ants
(Formicidae). Negative effects of organic viticulture are most likely related to the negative nontarget
effects on arthropods related to the frequent sulfur and copper applications in combination with the
avoidance of strongly damaging insecticides by integrated winegrowers. While a 10% difference in
predation rates on a single pest stage is unlikely to have strong practical implications, our results
show that the assumed effectiveness of environmentally friendly agriculture needs to be evaluated
for specific crops and regions.
Keywords:
- Correction
- Source
- Cite
- Save
- Machine Reading By IdeaReader
76
References
3
Citations
NaN
KQI