Abstract
Field studies were conducted from 1983 to 1986 in two stands of alfalfa, Medicago sativa L., to investigate effects of feeding by larvae of the clover root curculio (CRC), Sitona hispidulus (F.). Total nonstructural carbohydrate root reserves were significantly reduced by CRC damage during the period of larval feeding. Root reserve reduction was correlated with the percentage of taproot surface area damaged, and this negative effect remained significant for about 1 mo after cessation of larval feeding. Significantly greater mortality of alfalfa plants occurred after 1 yr of CRC feeding in untreated plots compared with plots treated with soil insecticides. Significant dry weight yield reductions (approximately 14%) attributable to CRC injury occurred in the first and second harvests of 1984, in the second harvest of 1985, and in the third harvest of 1986. Dry weight yields were not significantly affected by CRC injury in 1983.
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