Abstract
Simple SummarySoybean agroecosystems in the Midsouth support an assorted insect community. Louisiana soybean is heavily managed by growers, and the subsequent effect on residing arthropod populations is not well understood. For sustainable management of soybean, evaluations need not only focus on problematic pests, but also the resident natural enemies. This study addresses the compositional and temporal abundance of prominent insects in Louisiana soybean, both pest and beneficial. Pest and natural enemy populations were monitored to delineate potential associations. We found that the pest community was dominated by those that fed on soybean through piercing-sucking mouthparts. Predator populations were comprised mainly of spiders and big-eyed bugs. Pest and predator populations were similarly more abundant later in the soybean reproductive period. A moderate positive linear relationship was observed between pest and predator communities indicating a temporal correlation. Here we present essential information about the pest and natural enemy communities residing in Louisiana.Over the past two decades, management practices within Louisiana soybean production have shifted. Successful application of an integrated pest management (IPM) strategy requires an understanding of how these changes have affected predator-pest dynamics. Surveys monitoring foliage-foraging arthropod populations in soybean took place across six locations within Louisiana over six years (2012–2014 and 2015–2018). Temporal associations of pest groups, defoliating and piercing-sucking, and predator groups relating to soybean phenology were observed. Additionally, soybean maturity groups (III, IV, and V) were also evaluated to delineate potential differences. Results indicated higher abundances of piercing-sucking pests compared to defoliating pests across both datasets (2012–2014 and 2015–2018). Pest groups were more abundant in later soybean reproductive periods, mainly attributed to Chrysodeixis includens and Piezodorus guildinii. Predator populations were mainly comprised of Araneae and Geocoridae throughout the survey periods. From 2015 to 2018, soybean growth had a significant effect on total predator abundance with more predators present at the pod-fill and soybean maturity stage. Correlations between total pest abundance and total predators exhibited a moderate positive linear relationship. Soybean maturity groups only influenced piercing-sucking pest abundance, with later maturing groups (IV and V) having higher numbers. Thus, control tools and tactics aimed at controlling late season pests should be modified to avoid reducing predator populations.
Highlights
Understanding the ecological framework of an agroecosystem is a central theme of integrated pest management (IPM) [1]
Lists of the collected arthropods placed into their functional pest or taxonomic predator groups, in addition to their proportions and total numbers, can be found in Tables 1 and 2
The endemic natural enemy community was correlated to observed pest populations, economic threshold levels were still reached by piercing-sucking herbivorous pests
Summary
Understanding the ecological framework of an agroecosystem is a central theme of integrated pest management (IPM) [1]. The utilization of natural enemies as a control tactic is a fundamental part of any pest management plan. Unlike conservation biological control tactics, the use of resident natural enemies does not require the manipulation of an agroecosystem [7]. Pest management strategies often neglect the exploitation of natural controls and their preexisting function within the ecosystem. This ecological service provided by resident natural enemies is estimated to be worth approximately USD 4.5 billion annually [8] across multiple cropping systems [9,10,11,12,13,14,15]. Funderburk et al [17]
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