Abstract
Cacopsylla pyricola (Förster, 1848) (Hemiptera: Psyllidae) is a serious pest of pear in all pear growing areas. In the scope of an integrated pest management, a two consecutive years study was carried out to determine the effects of plant cover on pear psyllid population and its predators. Two treatments including plant cover and bare ground were applied in a randomized complete block design with three replicates. The sampling of the pest and its predators were done weekly by beating technique and leaf sampling. The data were subjected to analysis of variance (ANOVA). The results showed that plant cover had significant effect on the increase of predators on the trees (P < 0.001). The psyllid specialist predator, Anthocoris nemoralis (Fabricius, 1794), had the highest population among the pear psyllid predators (0.29 per sample). Plant cover had no significant effect on reducing the population of eggs, nymphs and adults of the pear psyllid. Despite the increase in the population of predators led by plant cover, lack of their effectiveness to reduce the pear psyllid population is discussed.
Highlights
The Pear psylla, Cacopsylla pyricola (Förster, 1848) (Hemiptera: Psyllidae), is a host specific pest of only pears and is present in all pear growing areas with considerable economic importance (Emami et al, 2014)
No significant difference was found between density of eggs, nymphs and adults of the pear psyllid in plant cover and bare ground treatments (Fig. 1 and 2)
Both an increase in Anthocorid numbers and a decrease in pear psyllid prey are reported when a grassy ground cover is sown in the alleys compared with bare ground (Rieux et al, 1999)
Summary
The Pear psylla, Cacopsylla pyricola (Förster, 1848) (Hemiptera: Psyllidae), is a host specific pest of only pears and is present in all pear growing areas with considerable economic importance (Emami et al, 2014). Weeds sometimes play an important role in pest management systems and when specific weeds are not present, biological control of certain insects is often impossible (Zandstra and Motooka, 1978). Wilde (1960) showed that clean orchard cultivation tended to reduce predator numbers and favor high psyllid populations, probably because of higher orchard temperatures and lower relative humidity than those found in orchards with plant cover. Orchards with ground covers may have higher populations of certain natural enemies, largely due to increased habitat and alternate food sources for beneficial insects and mites; they may have fewer problems with pests and mites (Flint, 1998). An investigation was performed on the effects of plant cover on pear psyllid and its predators in pear orchards, to determine the effectiveness of this strategy in regulating pest populations
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