Influence of Ground Cover on Beneficial Arthropods in Pecan

Abstract

Arthropods were collected, identified, and counted on three dates to determine the effects of ground cover on arthropod type and density in pecan canopies. Ground covers were a grass sod (primarily bermudagrass,Cynodon dactylon[L.] Pers.), red clover (Trifolium pratenseL.), or a mixture of crimson clover (T. incarnatumL.) and hairy vetch (Vicia villosaRoth.). Arthropods collected represented eight orders of Insecta, three orders of Arachnida, and one Chilopoda. Ground cover had little effect on the density or type of arthropods present in the pecan canopy, except that densities ofChrysoperla rufilabris(Burmeister) were greater during July from pecans with a legume ground cover than from those with a grass ground cover.Chrysoperla rufilabrisis a major predator of aphids, which may suppress pecan aphid density. Other statistically significant differences in arthropod density between ground cover types were not of practical importance.