Abstract
The effects of vegetation background in the form of living mulches and weed cover on the population dynamics of foliage and soil arthropods were studied in corn, tomato and cauliflower crop systems in California. In Davis (Central Valley site) herbivores (especially aphids and lygaeids) were more abundant in the weed cover than in the clover mulch, whereas leafhoppers were most common in the clover mulch. Higher numbers of natural enemies were observed in the clover plots. Significantly more ground predators (Carabidae, Staphylinidae, spiders) were caught in pitfalls placed in the weedy and clover plots, than in the clean cultivated plots. In Albany (Coastal area), specialized herbivore (cabbage aphids and flea-beetles) densities were significantly reduced in plots with additional vegetation cover. It is not clear if this reduction was due to plant diversity or density effects, to the effects of natural enemies or to the lower quality of plants in the weedy and mulched plots, as crop growth and yields were drastically reduced in these plots at both sites. Further agronomic work is warranted to minimize the competitive effects of legume covers on crops, so that the entomological advantages reported here can be used in a practical way.
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