Flowering Chamaecrista fasciculata borders enhance natural enemy populations and improve grain quality in field corn

•Beneficial arthropods and herbivores were highly attracted to partridge pea.•Partridge pea was a sink for some natural enemies, reducing their dispersal.•Overall target pest egg mortality was ∼ 70 %, but target pest adult abundances were unaffected by partridge pea.•Corn grain quality was improved...

Ausführliche Beschreibung

Gespeichert in:
Bibliographische Detailangaben
Veröffentlicht in:Agriculture, ecosystems & environment ecosystems & environment, 2021-02, Vol.306, p.107193, Article 107193
Hauptverfasser: Hunt, Lauren G., Dively, Galen, Hooks, Cerruti R.R.
Format: Artikel
Sprache:eng
Schlagworte:
Online-Zugang:Volltext
Tags: Tag hinzufügen
Keine Tags, Fügen Sie den ersten Tag hinzu!
Beschreibung
Zusammenfassung:•Beneficial arthropods and herbivores were highly attracted to partridge pea.•Partridge pea was a sink for some natural enemies, reducing their dispersal.•Overall target pest egg mortality was ∼ 70 %, but target pest adult abundances were unaffected by partridge pea.•Corn grain quality was improved along border rows contiguous with partridge pea. Plants with floral resources are advocated to enhance natural enemy density and efficacy in conservation biological control systems. Field experiments were conducted to examine the ability of partridge pea (Chamaecrista fasciculata) planted along two borders of organic field corn (Zea mays) plots to attract natural enemies and enhance biological control, yield and profit. Partridge pea significantly increased natural enemy abundances, including parasitoid and predators; however, some key natural enemy and target pest abundances within field corn were unaffected. Crop damage was reduced, and grain quality improved significantly in corn adjacent to partridge pea compared with corn plots without partridge pea. Despite these benefits, there was no economic gain with respect to improved corn yields or increased profits.
ISSN:0167-8809
1873-2305
DOI:10.1016/j.agee.2020.107193