Structural heterogeneity of wildflower strips enhances fructose feeding in parasitoids
The use of wildflower strips to provide carbohydrate resource for parasitoids and enhance pest regulation is widely recommended in agriculture. However, how the management of wildflower strips affects resource availability and utilisation by parasitoids has never been studied. Using orange orchards...
| Autores principales: | , , , , |
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| Formato: | Artículo |
| Lenguaje: | Inglés |
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Elsevier
2022
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| Acceso en línea: | http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11939/8333 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0167880922002882?via%3Dihub |
| _version_ | 1855492469938978816 |
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| author | Mockford, Alice Westbury, Duncan B. Ashbrook, Kate Urbaneja, Alberto Tena, Alejandro |
| author_browse | Ashbrook, Kate Mockford, Alice Tena, Alejandro Urbaneja, Alberto Westbury, Duncan B. |
| author_facet | Mockford, Alice Westbury, Duncan B. Ashbrook, Kate Urbaneja, Alberto Tena, Alejandro |
| author_sort | Mockford, Alice |
| collection | ReDivia |
| description | The use of wildflower strips to provide carbohydrate resource for parasitoids and enhance pest regulation is widely recommended in agriculture. However, how the management of wildflower strips affects resource availability and utilisation by parasitoids has never been studied. Using orange orchards as a model system, three experimental alleyway management treatments were investigated: a control treatment where naturally occurring vegetation in the alleyways between rows of trees was managed under standard farm practice; a standard management wildflower treatment in which sown wildflower strips in alleyways were managed by cutting once a year; and an active management wildflower treatment, in which the wildflower strips in alleyways was managed by cutting three times a year. Wildflower strips under standard management prevented the seasonal decline of nectar, supporting fructose feeding in parasitoids across all three seasons. The abundance of floral and hemipteran honeydew carbohydrate resources in the orchard alleyways and citrus canopy was consistently greater with the standard management treatment than the control or the active management treatments. In turn, this treatment was associated with twice the abundance of primary parasitoids than with the control and active management treatments in both summer and autumn. In addition, in autumn, parasitoids were more likely to have recently fed on carbohydrate in the standard management treatment than in the other two alleyway treatments. Finally, greater carbohydrate feeding in parasitoids was associated with increased structural heterogeneity of vegetation within the orchard alleyways. This study demonstrates that the nutritional status of parasitoids in a perennial cropping system can be improved using wildflower strips, which could enhance pest regulation, and emphasises the importance of studying the management of wildflower strips when targeting specific resource requirements. |
| format | Artículo |
| id | ReDivia8333 |
| institution | Instituto Valenciano de Investigaciones Agrarias (IVIA) |
| language | Inglés |
| publishDate | 2022 |
| publishDateRange | 2022 |
| publishDateSort | 2022 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| publisherStr | Elsevier |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | ReDivia83332025-04-25T14:48:54Z Structural heterogeneity of wildflower strips enhances fructose feeding in parasitoids Mockford, Alice Westbury, Duncan B. Ashbrook, Kate Urbaneja, Alberto Tena, Alejandro Orange orchard Microhabitat management Ecological infrastructure sugar feeding Foraging ecology H10 Pests of plants Nutritional state The use of wildflower strips to provide carbohydrate resource for parasitoids and enhance pest regulation is widely recommended in agriculture. However, how the management of wildflower strips affects resource availability and utilisation by parasitoids has never been studied. Using orange orchards as a model system, three experimental alleyway management treatments were investigated: a control treatment where naturally occurring vegetation in the alleyways between rows of trees was managed under standard farm practice; a standard management wildflower treatment in which sown wildflower strips in alleyways were managed by cutting once a year; and an active management wildflower treatment, in which the wildflower strips in alleyways was managed by cutting three times a year. Wildflower strips under standard management prevented the seasonal decline of nectar, supporting fructose feeding in parasitoids across all three seasons. The abundance of floral and hemipteran honeydew carbohydrate resources in the orchard alleyways and citrus canopy was consistently greater with the standard management treatment than the control or the active management treatments. In turn, this treatment was associated with twice the abundance of primary parasitoids than with the control and active management treatments in both summer and autumn. In addition, in autumn, parasitoids were more likely to have recently fed on carbohydrate in the standard management treatment than in the other two alleyway treatments. Finally, greater carbohydrate feeding in parasitoids was associated with increased structural heterogeneity of vegetation within the orchard alleyways. This study demonstrates that the nutritional status of parasitoids in a perennial cropping system can be improved using wildflower strips, which could enhance pest regulation, and emphasises the importance of studying the management of wildflower strips when targeting specific resource requirements. 2022-09-08T06:21:23Z 2022-09-08T06:21:23Z 2022 article publishedVersion Mockford, A., Westbury, D. B., Ashbrook, K., Urbaneja, A. & Tena, A. (2022). Structural heterogeneity of wildflower strips enhances fructose feeding in parasitoids. Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment, 339, 108139. 0167-8809 http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11939/8333 10.1016/j.agee.2022.108139 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0167880922002882?via%3Dihub en_US The project leading to this research was funded by the University of Worcester, Waitrose & Partners, and Primafruit Ltd. The research was also partially funded by Instituto Valenciano de Investigaciones Agrarias (IVIA), and the Conselleria d′ Agricultura, Pesca i Alimentació de la Generalitat Valenciana (GVA). openAccess Elsevier |
| spellingShingle | Orange orchard Microhabitat management Ecological infrastructure sugar feeding Foraging ecology H10 Pests of plants Nutritional state Mockford, Alice Westbury, Duncan B. Ashbrook, Kate Urbaneja, Alberto Tena, Alejandro Structural heterogeneity of wildflower strips enhances fructose feeding in parasitoids |
| title | Structural heterogeneity of wildflower strips enhances fructose feeding in parasitoids |
| title_full | Structural heterogeneity of wildflower strips enhances fructose feeding in parasitoids |
| title_fullStr | Structural heterogeneity of wildflower strips enhances fructose feeding in parasitoids |
| title_full_unstemmed | Structural heterogeneity of wildflower strips enhances fructose feeding in parasitoids |
| title_short | Structural heterogeneity of wildflower strips enhances fructose feeding in parasitoids |
| title_sort | structural heterogeneity of wildflower strips enhances fructose feeding in parasitoids |
| topic | Orange orchard Microhabitat management Ecological infrastructure sugar feeding Foraging ecology H10 Pests of plants Nutritional state |
| url | http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11939/8333 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0167880922002882?via%3Dihub |
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