The most harmful cereals pests in ecological farms of south-east Poland

Zasiewom zbóż w gospodarstwach ekologicznych południowo-wschodniej części kraju zagraża szereg agrofagów, pośród których ważną pozycję zajmują szkodniki. Przyczyniają się one nie tylko do powstania bezpośrednich strat w plonach ziarna, lecz poprzez uszkadzanie tkanek roślin ułatwiają wnikanie do ich wnętrza grzybom, bakteriom i wirusom powodującym groźne choroby, które dodatkowo obniżają ilość jak i jakość ziarna. Celem prowadzonych badań było rozpoznanie składu gatunkowego szkodników uszkadzających rośliny oraz określenie ich szkodliwości dla wybranych zbóż. Na podstawie wykonanych analiz stwierdzono, że najważniejszymi szkodnikami zbóż w rejonie badań były: ploniarka zbożówka, mszyce, skrzypionki, wciornastki, niezmiarka paskowana oraz pryszczarki kwiatowe i źdźbłowe.Pests constitute a significant threat to the cereal crops on environmentally friendly farms in the south-eastern areas of the country. They cause losses in the seed crops, both directly and indirectly: damaging the plant tissue, pests make the plants vulnerable to bacterial, viral, and fungal infections that additionally lower both the quantity and the quality of seeds. The aim of our research was to determine the species composition of the pests that damage the plants and the level of their harmful effect on selected corn species. The analyses showed that the most harmful corn pests in the area were: the frit fly, the aphids, the leaf beetles, the thrips, the gout fly, the flower midges and the blade midges

Efficiency of cereal leaf beetle larvae (Oulema spp.) control in wheat in ecological farm in Rzeszów area in 2008-2010

Zasiewom zbóż w gospodarstwach ekologicznych na Podkarpaciu zagraża wiele szkodników, wśród których za najważniejsze uznaje się skrzypionki (Oulema spp.). Żerowanie larw oraz chrząszczy skrzypionek powoduje zmniejszenie powierzchn asymilacyjnej roślin, co w konsekwencji prowadzi do osłabienia roślin i obniżenia wysokości plonu, a także do spadku zdrowotności zasiewu wskutek porażania roślin przez sprawców chorób. Z uwagi na wysoką szkodliwość skrzypionek dla pszenicy uprawianej w gospodarstwach ekologicznych w latach 2008-2010 wykonano w okolicach Rzeszowa badania nad możliwością ich zwalczania za pomocą wybranych preparatów. Celem prowadzonych badań była ocena skuteczności biologicznej wybranych środków do zwalczania larw skrzypionek (Oulema spp.) w gospodarstwie ekologicznym.W doświadczeniu wykorzystano następujące bioinsektycydy: NeemAzal T/S + Trifolio S-Forte (azadyrachtyna), Biospin 120 SC (spinosad) oraz SpinTor 240 SC (spinosad).Cereals crops in ecological farms in Podkarpackie province are threatened by numerous agrophages, amongst which cereal leaf beetles (Oulema spp.) are considered to be the most important. Feeding of cereal leaf beetle larvae and beetles reduces the assimilative surface of leaves, resulting in consequence in weakening of plants and yield reduction, as well as in reduced healthiness of crops due to infection of plants with pathogens. Considering high harmfulness of cereal leaf beetles to wheat grown at organic farms, in the years 2008-2010 the studies were conducted in the Rzeszów area concerning possibilities for their control with selected plant protection products. The aim of those studies was to verify biological effectiveness of selected insecticides in control of cereal leaf beetle (Oulema spp.) larvae at the organic farm. The following insecticides were used in the experiment: NeemAzal T/S + Trifolio S-Forte (azadirachtin), Biospin 120 SC (spinosad) and SpinTor 240 SC (spinosad)

Egg Laying and Caterpillar Hatching Dynamics of Ostrinia Nubilalis Hbn. on Maize (Zea Mays L.) in South-Eastern Poland

During the study years, the European corn borer (ECB) (Ostrinia nubilalis Hbn.) females began depositing eggs on maize plants between the last ten days of June and the first ten days of July. A maximum number of eggs on plants was found at the beginning of the second ten days of July and at the beginning of the third ten days of July. The last egg clusters were recorded in August. During the five years of the study period, the female oviposition period lasted from 4.5 to 8 weeks. The shortest oviposition period took place during the warm and dry years, while the longest period was during the rainy and relatively cold years. During the study years, within the entire flight period, O. nubilalis females deposited from 1,564 to 3,393 eggs on 200 observed plants. The average number of eggs per cluster in the study years was from 10.0 to 15.2. The beginning of caterpillar hatching, based on the observation of empty egg clusters, was recorded in the last ten days of June or in the first and second ten days of July. Mass hatching of the caterpillars was observed in the second and third ten days of July, and only in 2004 was it in the first ten days of August. The last empty egg clusters were recorded in the second and in the third ten days of August

The quantitative changes of ground beetles (Col., Carabidae) in BT and conventional maize crop in southern Poland

Abstract: In the southern part of Poland, ground beetle fauna was studied in the first large-scale Bt maize experiment. The aim of this study was to determine the long term impact of the Bt maize cultivar in comparison to conventional plants, on selected non-target arthropods. The DKC 3421 YG cultivar (Bt maize) and the respective isogenic non-Bt varieties (DKC 3420) were cultivated at two locations: (a) Budziszów near Wrocław and in Głuchów near Rzeszów in the south-eastern region of Poland, in the 2008–2010 growing seasons. For comparative analysis, two additional non-Bt cultivars sprayed with a lambda-cyhalotrine insecticide were also included. To monitor population density of surface-active invertebrates of the Carabidae family, eighty pitfall traps were used at each location. The average number of ground beetle populations in the Bt-maize cultivar DKC 3421 YG did not significantly differ from the number of beetles in the conventional ones. Significant differences between the number of beetles occurred on individual dates only. Usually, these differences related to the considerably smaller total number of beetles in the whole replication. Probably, the variation in the number of beetles was caused by climatic factors or the terrain layout, therefore it cannot be related to the cultivar effect. Key words: Bt-maize, conventional plants, ground beetles, quantitative change