Funkcionālās agrobioloģiskās daudzveidības pasākumu novērtēšanas metodes ābeļu dārzos Latvijā

Overview about methods to evaluate functional agrobiodiversity in apple orchards in Latvia

Investigation of European shot-hole borer, Xyleborus dispar (Coleoptera, Scolytidae), in apple orchards of Latvia

European shot-hole borer is known to occur on a wide range of deciduous trees and frequently found on fruit trees in most of the Holarctic. During the last years increased activity of this beetle contributed necessity for investigation of it in apple orchards of Latvia. Because of the latent behavior it is difficult to control distribution of Xyleborus dispar. Often insecticides are not effective, especially if not used in an appropriate time and methods of integrated or biological plant protection are needed. In the current study, results of two year monitoring of X. dispar flying activity and effectiveness of two types of sticky traps, Rebell Rosso and Csalomon Palx, bitted with 50% alcohol are presented. Four traps of each type were placed in each orchard at the beginning of May in 2013 and at the middle of April in 2014. Differences among respective orchards were recorded: the highest number of beetles was found in the largest orchard surrounded by wide deciduous forests; the lowest number was recorded in the orchard surrounded by the agricultural lands. The first emerging X. dispar female was caught at the middle of April. During the vegetation season the highest flying activity of beetles was at the end of April - beginning of May (17th – 18th week). Afterwards number and flying activity of beetles decreased and at the middle of June (25th – 26th week) reached zero. In orchard with the highest number of European shot-hole borer, significantly higher number of beetles was recorded on Rebell Rosso traps; for the rest two orchards higher number of X. dispar was recorded on Csalomon Palx traps

Functional agrobiodiversity techniques to support beneficial organisms in apple orchards of Latvia

Overview about functional agrobiodiversity techniques that are used and can be used to support beneficial organisms in apple orchards of Latvia

MANAGEMENT OF STRAWBERRY BLOSSOM WEEVIL AND EUROPEAN TARNISHED PLANT BUG IN ORGANIC STRAWBERRY AND RASPBERRY USING SEMIOCHEMICAL TRAPS “Softpest Multitrap”

Many European growers of organic strawberry and raspberry have large losses in yield (sometimes >80%) and reduced quality of their products because of insect damage. Among the major threats are the strawberry blossom weevil (Anthonomus rubi Herbst), the European tarnished plant bug (Lygus rugulipennis Popp.) and the raspberry beetle (Byturus tomentosus De Geer). In organic soft fruit production there are no effective control measures for these pest insects. For many insects species pheromones and host plant volatiles are of major importance in mate finding and location of host plants for mating, feeding and oviposition. Thus, there is potential for using these insect-insect and/or insect-host plant interactions to develop new strategies and effective control measures for pest insects. In this project we want to extend our knowledge of these systems to develop effective control measures to control these pests in organic crops

Trapping of Lygus rugulipennis in Norwegian strawberry crops

European tarnished plant bug (ETB) sex pheromone traps in Norwegian strawberry must be deployed very early in the season to maximize catches. To trap females or the new generation, other attractants must be added. The strawberry blossom weevil attractant PV2 may act as a slight antagonist in ETB trapping, especially early in the season

Traps for Lygus rugulipennis and Anthonomus rubi: preliminary results from Softpest Multitrap activities in Latvia

There is a lack of appropriate plant protection methods against strawberry blossom weevil (SBW) not only in organic plantations, but also in plantations, where IPM is used. European tarnished plant bug (ETPB) is not currently recognized as a pest in Latvian strawberry plantations, because the visual defects made by bugs are not important for Latvian consumers. Cross vane bucket traps and sticky stake traps were the most effective for trapping SBW in Latvia. These traps, where the lure was positioned at the top of cross vanes, were also the most effective for capturing ETPB

Mass trapping Anthonomus rubi and Lygus rugulipennis in strawberries

The strawberry blossom weevil, Anthonomus rubi, and the European tarnished plant bug,Lygus rugulipennis, can cause substantial damage in organic strawberries in Northern and Central Europe. In conventional production it is also desirable to find alternatives to current pesticide controls, which negatively affects beneficials and also creates a risk of building pesticide resistance. Anthonomus rubi lays an egg in a developing flower bud and then partially bites off the flower stem, resulting in a loss of yield. Lygus rugulipennis nymphs and adults feed on flowers and developing fruitlets, causing a fruit distortion which makes the damaged fruit unmarketable. In the ERA-NET CORE Organic project “Softpest Multitrap”, we studied how pheromone and plant volatiles can be combined to improve trapping of the two pests. Our studies also included trap design and placement of traps in the field (grid size, perimeter versus field centre), investigations of the phenology of A. rubi and L. rugulipennis. In 2014 we assessed a ‘multi’-trap for both species. Results will be presented and discussed

SOFTPEST MULTITRAP - MANAGEMENT OF STRAWBERRY BLOSSOM WEEVIL AND EUROPEAN TARNISHED PLANT BUG IN ORGANIC STRAWBERRY AND RASPBERRY USING SEMIOCHEMICAL TRAPS

Many growers of organic strawberry and raspberry have large losses in yield and reduced quality of their products because of insect damage. For many insects species pheromones and host plant volatiles are of major importance in mate finding and host plant location. In this project we want to extend our knowledge of these systems to develop effective control measures to control these pests in organic crops. The focus will be on the strawberry blossom weevil, the European tarnish plant bug and the raspberry beetle

Comment attirer deux ravageurs des framboises dans un même piège?

L’anthonome des framboises (Anthonomus rubi) et le ver des framboises (Byturus tomentosus) causent de grosses pertes dans les cultures biologiques de framboises. Dans le cadre du projet européen Core Organic 2, le projet «Softpest Multitrap» a testé une nouvelle approche pour controller simultanément ces deux ravageurs avec un piège commun, afin de proposer une alternative aux insecticides. Le but a été de définir la hauteur du piège, son design et lacombinaison de leurres optimale. Nos essais ont montré que le piège doit être posé au sol en combinant une aggregation de phéromones et des composés volatils de fleurs de framboisier pour capturer ces deux insectes. Les pièges doivent être mis en place dès le départ de la végétation (stade BBCH 45–47). Le design du piège doit encore être amélioré pour intensifier les captures. Cette approche innovante offre de nouvelles perspectives pour la lute contre ces ravageurs

Management of insect pests using semiochemical traps

In the absence of effective control measures, the strawberry blossom weevil (Anthonomus rubi) (SBW) and the raspberry beetle (Byturus tomentosus) (RB) cause large (10 - >80%) losses in yield and quality in organically grown raspberry. Attractive lures for both pests were combined into a single multitrap for the economical management of both of these pests at the same time. This is one of the first approaches to pest management of non-lepidopteran insect pests of horticultural crops using semiochemicals in the EU, and probably the first to target multiple species from different insect orders. The aim is to develop optimized lures and cost-effective trap designs for mass trapping and to determine the optimum density and spatial and temporal patterns of deployment of the traps for controlling these pests by mass trapping. The combination between an aggregation pheromone that attracts Anthonomus rubi and a raspberry flower volatile that attracts Byturus tomentosus seems to be the best combination