Vegetation management and biological control in agroecosystems

Abstract

The application of diversity/stability considerations in theoretical ecology has led to the emergence of testable hypotheses with implications for biological control and agroecosystem management. The object of applied research in this area has been to achiece predictably stable pest populations (below an economic threshold level) in crop systems. The exacerbation of most insect-pest problems has been associated with increases in crop monocultures at the expense of the natural vegetation, thereby decreasing local habitat diversity. This can seriously affect the abundance and efficiency of natural enemies, which depend on habitat complexity for sources of alternate prey/hosts, pollen and nectar, shelter, nesting and overwintering sites. Plant diversification of agroecosystems can result in increased environmental opportunities for natural enemies and, consequently, improved biological pest control. Agronomically, there are several ways to design plsnt-diverse cropping systems. One way is by manipulating the vegetation of field margins, and managing the species composition and density of plants in ditchbanks, hedgerows, windbreaks and other types of shelter belts. Within-field plant diversity can be manipulated by designing polycultures of various temporal and spatial crop arrangements. The effects of some of these systems on the dynamics of insect populations are discussed, as well as the effects of cover-crop management on pest insects in orchards. Another way to enrich the vegetational structure of cropping systems is through weed management. Weed diversity in the form of weed borders, alternate rows, or by providing weeds in certain periods of the crop growth can have a major impact on insect dynamics.