The effect of plant density on populations of the cabbage root fly on four cruciferous crops

Abstract

SUMMARYTo study the effects of plant density on populations of the cabbage root fly (Erioischia brassicae), cabbage, cauliflower, Brussels sprout and swede were each planted in plots with twenty‐four concentric circles of plants at spacings ranging from 10 to 90 cm between the individual plants. Plants treated with a root drench of chlorfenvinphos and untreated plants were each sampled at ten plant densities which ranged from 1–5 to 68‐3 plants/m2.In the absence of insecticide, the numbers of overwintering cabbage root fly pupae produced ranged from c. four per m2 at the lowest plant density to 200 per m2 at the highest. The number of pupae per m2 was proportional to plant density to the powers 0–98,0‐77,0–69 and o‐6i for the swede, cauliflower, cabbage and Brussels sprout crops, respectively. The magnitude of each cabbage root fly population was determined mainly by plant density but also by the cultivar used as host plant.The results suggested that, in a given locality, when changing from low to high plant density crops during a growing season it should be unnecessary to apply insecticide to control cabbage root fly; conversely, a change from high to low plant densities would necessitate an extremely efficient application of insecticide.