Abstract
ABSTRACT The effects of warm-season cover crops on aphidophagous Coccinellidae and pecan aphids were evaluated in replicated studies at three commercial pecan orchards in southern Georgia. Each orchard featured cover-cropped plots dominated by sesbania (Sesbania exaltata [Rafinesque-Schmaltz] Cory) and control plots containing resident vegetation. Sesbania was the only understorey plant that harboured substantial densities of alternative prey, such as cowpea aphid (Aphis craccivora Koch) and bandedwinged whitefly (Trialeurodes abutilonea [Haldeman]), suitable for Coccinellidae. When densities of pecan aphids dropped during July or August, whitefly-infested understorey stands of sesbania arrested and retained high densities of convergent lady beetle (Hippodamia convergens Guerin-Meneville) and the principally-arboreal Olla v-nigrum (Mulsant). In two separate studies, highly significant differences were found for season-long mean densities of pooled adult lady beetles: densities were 125 and 48 times greate...
Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
