Effects of soil compaction on damage to wheat seeds by three pest species of slug

Abstract

The levels of soil compaction existing in arable fields were measured. Four levels of compaction within the measured range were reproduced in a standard laboratory soil. Arion hortensis, Deroceras reticulatum and Milax budapestensis slugs were less able to enter the soil and damage buried wheat grains at high levels of compaction than at low levels. At high levels of compaction A. hortensis and M. budapestensis ate fewer grains overall, but a greater proportion of individual grains that were available, than they did at low compactions. The findings show that increased compaction, at levels within the range found in arable fields, can reduce slug mobility, and thus the damage to crops, independently of other cultivation effects. They quantify the effect of soil compaction against three pest slug species and confirm that compaction is an important element in slug control.