Abstract
Simple SummaryLeafhoppers are serious insect pests in agriculture across the world. Both nymphs and adults suck the sap of plant shoots and leaves with their piercing–sucking mouthparts causing damage called “hopperburn”. The tea green leafhopper, Empoasca onukii, is one of most damaging pests in tea plantations in Asia. In China, yellow sticky cards and light traps are increasingly used to control leafhoppers in tea plantations, especially the tea green leafhopper. Visually, several leafhoppers appear to be captured and killed, however, the real control efficiency and the damage to natural enemies remains unclear. In our study, a 16-week open field experiment with daily weather monitoring was designed to test the responses of tea green leafhopper, parasitoids and spiders to yellow sticky cards and light traps (cover with sticky cards) that used different light colours. An exclosure experiment was also designed to further test the influence of the three light systems (without sticky card) on the same groups of species. The results suggested that light, especially green and white, can be useful as a way to control leafhopper populations without affecting parasitoids and spiders too much.In Chinese tea plantations, yellow sticky cards and light traps are increasingly used to control insect pests, especially the tea green leafhopper Empoasca onukii. In this study, a 16-week open-field experiment with daily weather monitoring was designed to test the responses of tea green leafhopper, parasitoids and spiders to yellow sticky cards and three light traps with different wavelengths (covered with sticky cards). An exclosure experiment was also designed to further test the influence of the three light systems (without sticky card) on the same species. The results showed that all three light emitting diode (LED) light traps (white, green and yellow) and yellow sticky cards attracted many more E. onukii male adults than females during the course of the open field experiment, with less than 25% of trapped adults being females. Parasitoids and spiders were also attracted by these systems. Weather variables, especially rainfall, influenced the trapping efficiency. In the exclosure experiment, the population of leafhoppers in the yellow sticky card treatment did not decline significantly, but the number of spiders significantly decreased. The green and white light treatments without sticky cards showed a significant control of E. onukii and no obvious harm to spiders. These results suggest that yellow sticky cards and light traps have limited capacity to control tea green leafhoppers. However, light, especially green light, may be a promising population control measure for tea green leafhoppers, not as killing agents in the traps, but rather as a behavioral control system.
Highlights
Tea (Camellia sinensis) plantations are considered perennial monocultures with habitat homogeneity and low plant species diversity [1,2,3]
We conducted t2h.1e.seSteuxdpyeSriimte ents in the Hongxing tea plantation located in Quanzhou, Fujian Province, China. iTnhQeuanzhou, tea plants in HongxFinugjiawnePrreomvinorcee,tChhainna50(aypeparrosxiomldataenlyd40h,a0d00bmee2n, 2o5r◦g0a1n5i.c7a6l”lyNm, 1a1n7a◦g5e2d0.w04i”thEo;u7t00–750 m pesticides and chemieclaelvfaetritoinli)z.eTrshefotreathpelapnatsst i1n0Hyeoanrgsx. ing were more than 50 years old and had been organically managed without pesticides and chemical fertilizers for the past 10 years
The mean total number of leafhoppers collected over the course of the open field trapping experiment ranged from 2272.4 ± 264.3 using the yellow sticky cards to 2616.3 ± 182.1 using the white light at night (Table 1)
Summary
Tea (Camellia sinensis) plantations are considered perennial monocultures with habitat homogeneity and low plant species diversity [1,2,3]. Farmers generally apply a wide range of pesticides to control pest outbreaks. Because tea leaves are rarely washed before being processed, there are concerns regarding human health safety due to the presence of pesticide residues [4,5]. For this reason, several tea growers in China have converted to organic tea growth. In China, one of the main tea pests is the tea green leafhopper (Empoasca onukii) [6], which can produce 9–17 generations per year, and all life stages can damage the plants [7,8]. An increasing number of farmers have realized the importance of these natural predators and tried different alternatives to reduce pesticides and promote their presence
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