Abstract
Larvae of Bradysia coprophila feed on sclerotia of Sclerotinia sclerotiorum. Effects of soil factors (organic matter, nitrate concentration. pH and porosity) on this activity and interactions with the mycoparasite Trichoderma viride were studied. Soil pH did not have significant effects on feeding activity but damage to sclerotia caused by larvae increased as organic matter content was increased from 7 to 80%. Increasing the nitrate content from 15 to 200 μg g −1 soil had less effect but, for any given concentration of organic matter, raising the nitrate concentration increased feeding activity. Damage to sclerotia located on the soil surface decreased as soil porosity increased but moderate increases in porosity resulted in increased damage to buried sclerotia. When sclerotia were placed in soils infested with T. viride, it was found that sclerotia that had been grazed by larvae were more susceptible to colonization by T. viride than undamaged sclerotia. The results suggest that increasing organic matter content of soils will significantly affect damage to sclerotia caused by larvae and that this damage increases susceptibility to attack by mycoparasites such as T. viride.
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