Integrated Pest Management Orchards Research Articles

Agroecosystem multifunctionality of apple orchards in relation to agricultural management and landscape context

Managing agricultural landscapes to simultaneously provide multiple ecosystem services is crucial to meet both environmental and societal demands. This not only requires surveying and modeling many ecosystem services at the same time, but also quantifying the impact of agricultural management and the surrounding landscape on agroecosystem multifunctionality. In this study, we assessed the agroecosystem multifunctionality of 12 organic apple orchards and 12 orchards with integrated pest management (IPM) using field data on 23 indicators for agronomical, ecological and economic performance. Furthermore, the ecological performance indicators were also quantified in 12 semi-natural grasslands to obtain a benchmark for the overall impact of agricultural management on biodiversity and biodiversity-based ecosystem services. We found that organic farming at the field scale had relatively limited beneficial effects on ecological performance, yet it provided farmers with a similar income relative to IPM, despite lower yield levels. Overall orchard multifunctionality did not differ between organic and IPM orchards, regardless of hypothetical stakeholder interests, and a clear trade-off between biodiversity and yield was found within both orchard systems. Structural equation models revealed that in addition to orchard management, also within-orchard location, local biodiversity and characteristics of the surrounding landscape were directly and/or indirectly driving ecosystem service indicator levels. Surrounding semi-natural habitat and landscape complexity enhanced biodiversity and biodiversity-based ecosystem services, and the higher provisioning of several services in the semi-natural benchmark further emphasizes the importance of preserving semi-natural habitats within the agricultural landscape. Overall, our results indicate that reconciling ecological, agronomical and economic goals requires a vision that goes beyond the field-level agricultural management. Therefore, we argue that policy measures should not only address local farm management, but should also target actions towards other stakeholders such as land managers and agricultural markets.

Direct and indirect effects of management and landscape on biological pest control and crop pest infestation in apple orchards

Abstract Biological pest control, relying on naturally occurring predator–prey dynamics, is considered a key element to achieve more sustainable farming systems. However, the combined effects of local management and landscape factors on communities of natural enemies as well as the cascading effects on pest infestations are rarely addressed, especially in perennial crops. Here, we used Piecewise Structural Equation Modelling (PSEM) to test direct and indirect effects of landscape composition, landscape configuration and local management practices on natural enemy communities, the pest control services they provide and ultimately on pest infestation and pest‐related yield damage in apple crops. To this end, we surveyed 12 organic and 12 Integrated Pest Management (IPM) orchards during three consecutive years, and we also established a semi‐natural benchmark to quantify the extent to which predator communities in the orchards were degraded. Natural enemies had a different community composition and were more abundant in organic orchards compared with IPM orchards. This had a small and positive effect on sentinel egg predation rates in organic orchards, but overall had very little impact on actual apple pest infestation. On the contrary, apple pest infestation levels were directly and positively affected by organic management practices and by increasing semi‐natural habitat cover and landscape edge density. Compared with a semi‐natural benchmark, both agricultural management systems showed degraded predator communities, which translated into an impaired delivery of biological control services. Synthesis and applications. Our results indicate that organic management and habitat conservation can enhance natural enemies and stimulate pest control, but also show that these factors can enhance pest infestations and can even lead to an overall increase in pest‐related crop damage. Our study thus highlights the complex interplay of ecosystem services and disservices provided by biodiversity, which should be taken into account when advising farmers, policy makers and land managers on effective and sustainable strategies to control pest species and safeguard crop production.

Single-row exclusion nets: an alternative pest control method with no detectable impact on breeding bird assemblages in orchards bordered by hedgerows

Agricultural intensification has led to dramatic declines in bird populations. In particular, the acknowledged role of synthetic pesticides on direct bird intoxication or food resource depletion urges us to seek alternative crop protection methods. Pest exclusion netting systems have recently gained popularity among fruit growers as an efficient means of reducing pest attacks, allowing their transition to organic farming. Single-row exclusion nets, which only cover fruit trees and leave uncovered both the inter-row grassy strips and the hedges, are increasingly being used in apple orchards of Southern Europe. However, net-induced effects on wildlife remain unknown. This study is the first to assess the impacts of single-row exclusion nets on breeding bird communities. We hypothesized that the exclusion net effects would be weaker than those associated with synthetic pesticide use, except for bird species that forage in the tree canopy. We monitored breeding bird abundance, and species richness in 46 commercial apple orchards managed using integrated pest management (IPM) or organic standards with or without exclusion nets. We counted 705 birds belonging to 32 different species. Total bird abundance, the number of observed species, and the Chao1 estimate of species richness were influenced by orchard management strategy. Breeding bird assemblages in organic orchards were as numerous and diverse in both the presence and absence of exclusion nets. In contrast, both bird abundance and species richness were significantly decreased in IPM orchards. The abundance and species richness of bird assemblages and the abundance of a few individual species also increased with the number of hedgerows bordering the orchards. Our results demonstrate that single-row netting systems for organic farming represent an effective pest control strategy with no significant impact on bird communities and highlight the importance of hedgerows along the orchards’ edges.

Soil Microbiomes in Apple Orchards Are Influenced by the Type of Agricultural Management but Never Match the Complexity and Connectivity of a Semi-natural Benchmark.

Conversion of natural ecosystems into agricultural land may strongly affect the soil microbiome and the functioning of the soil ecosystem. Alternative farming systems, such as organic farming, have therefore been advocated to reduce this impact, yet the outcomes of different agricultural management regimes often remain ambiguous and their evaluations mostly lack a proper more natural benchmark. We used high-throughput amplicon sequencing, linear models, redundancy analyses, and co-occurrence network analyses to investigate the effect of organic and integrated pest management (IPM) on soil fungal and bacterial communities in both the crop and drive rows of apple orchards in Belgium, and we included semi-natural grasslands as a benchmark. Fungi were strongly influenced by agricultural management, with lower diversity indices and distinct communities in IPM compared to organic orchards, whereas IPM orchards had a higher AMF abundance and the most complex and connected fungal communities. Bacterial diversity indices, community composition, and functional groups were less affected by management, with only a higher network connectivity and abundance of keystone taxa in organic drive rows. On the other hand, none of the agricultural soil microbiomes matched the complexity and connectedness of our semi-natural benchmark, demonstrating that even more nature-friendly agricultural management practices strongly affect the soil microbiome and highlighting the essential role of (semi-)natural systems as a harbor of robust and functionally diverse fungal and bacterial communities.

Both organic and integrated pest management of apple orchards maintain soil health as compared to a semi-natural reference system

Growing concerns about the negative environmental impacts of agriculture have resulted in the increasing adoption of farming systems that try to reconcile crop production with environmental sustainability, such as organic farming. As organic farming refrains from using synthetic inputs, it heavenly relies on maintaining soil health. However, it is still poorly understood how organic management performs in terms of maintaining soil health in real commercial and heterogeneous farm settings as compared to conventional management, and especially as compared to a natural reference system. Here, we compared a set of soil health indicators among 24 commercial apple orchards that were either managed organically or conventionally using Integrated Pest Management (IPM) practices. In addition, we quantified the same indicators in 12 semi-natural grasslands as a benchmark to assess to what extent soil processes and functions have been degraded due to agricultural practices. As soil heath indicators, we quantified soil bulk density, organic matter content, organic carbon content, organic carbon stock, total nitrogen (N), potential heterotrophic respiration, potential net N mineralization, litter decomposition and litter stabilization, and we added the diversity of the herbaceous vegetation and the soil microbiome as covariates in our models. We found no differences between organic and IPM orchards, and neither of the farming systems showed evidence of impaired soil health compared to the semi-natural benchmark, with the exception of higher decomposition rates measured in both orchard types. We observed, however, high spatial variation in soil health between drive and crop rows within the orchards. Especially in the IPM orchards, crop rows showed impaired soil health compared to the adjacent drive rows, indicating that there is still opportunity to improve soil management in the IPM system. In addition, our results show that a considerable part of the variation in soil characteristics can be attributed to the study site, suggesting that both natural heterogeneity and personal management preferences by individual farmers are more important than the management system. Overall, and at least in terms of the soil variables measured in this study, our results suggest that perennial crop systems can be managed in a sustainable way, without jeopardizing soil health.

Quantification of pesticide residues in the topsoil of Belgian fruit orchards: terrestrial environmental risk assessment.

Pesticides are widely used in fruit orchards. In the context of integrated pest management (IPM) Flemish farmers are advised to restrict the use of pesticides. However, pesticide residues could still pose a threat to beneficial organisms. To date, it is not well known which residues are present in IPM orchards. This study focuses on the pesticide concentration in the topsoil and the implications for soil-dwelling organisms. Topsoil was sampled in ten sweet cherry (Prunus avium (L.) L.) and eight apple (Malus domestica Borkh.) orchards in Flanders (Belgium), to quantify the concentration of pesticide residues. Topsoil was selected because it is a major exposure route for beneficials. Both pesticides from both current spraying schedules and those used previously were found. In addition, an environmental risk assessment was performed using species sensitivity distribution (SSD) and toxicity/exposure ratio (TER) approaches. The SSD approach led to a more conservative outcome. None of the pesticides in the spraying schedule revealed a risk, although some of the persistent and banned pesticides may continue to do so. Spraying schedules are good predictors of environmental contamination. Monitoring of residues remains essential to determine the real residue concentration in the topsoil. SSDs proved valuable. It was inferred that in addition to the standard test with the earthworm Eisenia fetida (Savigny, 1826), an arthropod test organism such as Folsomia candida (Willem, 1902) should be used in future risk assessments because it displays higher sensitivity towards insecticides.

An exploratory study of energy reserves and biometry as potential tools for assessing the effects of pest management strategies on the earwig, Forficula auricularia L.

Apple orchards are heavily treated crops and some sprayed insecticides are recognized to have toxic effects on non-target arthropods. Earwigs are important natural enemies in pip-fruit orchards and contribute to the biological control of aphids. In addition, due to their ease of capture and identification, they are an interesting potential bioindicator of the possible detrimental effects of different orchard management strategies. In this study, we measured the energy reserves and some morphological traits of Forficula auricularia L. sampled in apple orchards under management strategies (organic versus integrated pest management (IPM)). We observed a significant decrease in mass (22 to 27%), inter-eye width (3%), and prothorax width (2 to 5%) in earwigs from IPM compared to organic orchards. Energy body reserves also confirmed these results with a significant decrease of 48% in glycogen and 25 to 42% in lipid content in earwigs from IPM compared to organic orchards. However, the protein content was approximately 70% higher in earwigs from IPM than in organic orchards. Earwigs sampled in IPM orchards may adapt to minimize the adverse toxic effects of pesticide treatments using a large number of strategies, which are reflected in changes to their energy reserves. These strategies could, in turn, influence the population dynamics of natural enemies and impair their role in the biological control of pests in apple orchards.

Effect of orchard management, neighbouring land-use and shelterbelt tree composition on the parasitism of pest leafroller (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae) larvae in kiwifruit orchard shelterbelts

The parasitoid communities in organic and integrated pest management (IPM) kiwifruit orchards have previously been found to differ significantly, but we do not know if this affects the quality or quantity of biocontrol services. We compared parasitism of two leafroller (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae) pest species, Ctenopseustis obliquana (Walker) and Cnephasia jactatana (Walker), in the two types of orchard. Within each orchard, we focussed on a large shelterbelt between the kiwifruit vines and an alternative land-use to also investigate whether the shelterbelts and neighbouring habitat were a source of pests or beneficial insects for these orchards. Sentinel larvae were used to determine both parasitoid identity and parasitism rate each month during the kiwifruit growing seasons in 2013/14 (16 orchards) and 2014/15 (12 orchards). The numbers of Tortricidae and parasitoids in the shelterbelt on each orchard in each month was also assessed in 2014/15. Four parasitoid species emerged from the sentinel larvae, although average parasitism rates were very low (1–3%). There were no detectable effects of orchard management, shelterbelt type or neighbouring land-use on parasitism rates. Parasitoid numbers were low in all orchards in 2014/15, although more parasitoids were collected from the IPM orchards than the organic ones. This may have been in response to the increasing numbers of Tortricidae in the shelterbelts on the IPM orchards during the season, a trend that was not observed in the organic orchards. Both shelterbelt composition and neighbouring land-use were found to affect total combined counts of Tortricidae and parasitoids, with higher counts in shelterbelts composed of Cryptomeria japonica and where adjacent land contained native bush or tree-based scrub. Each may therefore be a source of both taxa for the orchards. Modifications to the shelterbelts that increase parastoids but not Tortricidae are needed.

Spider predation on rosy apple aphid in conventional, organic and insecticide-free orchards and its impact on aphid populations

Spiders dwelling in the canopy of apple trees may contribute to the control of the rosy apple aphid (Dysaphis plantaginea) in spring. They are expected to be very efficient early in the season during aphid colony establishment. However, their predation on aphids may be impaired by insecticide treatments. In the present study, we aimed to assess the effectiveness of spider predation on D. plantaginea in apple orchards. For this purpose, we sampled a total of 1281 canopy spiders in 8 orchards under IPM (Integrated Pest Management), organic or insecticide-free management in the early and mid-season. DNA analyses of the spider guts with specific D. plantaginea PCR primers were performed to estimate which taxa had eaten this aphid pest in the early and mid-season. Lastly, we assessed the effectiveness of aphid suppression by spiders in insecticide-free orchards during these two periods. The most abundant spiders collected belonged to the Philodromidae, Salticidae and Anyphaenidae families. Spiders were more abundant in the insecticide-free orchards than in the other orchards in the mid-season but not in the early season. The positive detection of D. plantaginea DNA was observed in 8 out of the 12 most abundant families and occurred in all orchards. The probability for a spider to be found positive increased with the abundance of aphids and was higher in the insecticide-free than in the other orchards. It did not depend on the spider prosoma size. Lastly, the increase in the number of aphid colonies early in the season was negatively related to the abundance of Philodromus spp. All these results showed that numerous spider taxa participate in the control of D. plantaginea in organic, conventional and IPM orchards and that Philodromus spp. may be particularly efficient in the early season where arthropod communities are not disturbed by insecticides.

Impact of apple orchard management strategies on earthworm (Allolobophora chlorotica) energy reserves

To assess the effects of agricultural management strategies on earthworm energy reserves (glycogen and lipids), 16 apple orchards under different strategies (organic, Integrated Pest Management (IPM), conventional and abandoned) were selected. Soil samples and 10 adults of the most common earthworm species (Allolobophora chlorotica) were sampled in each orchard. The glycogen and lipid concentrations in the earthworms did not correlate with any soil characteristics and no significant differences in earthworm weight were observed between strategies. However, significantly lower glycogen and lipid concentrations were found in earthworms inhabiting conventional orchards, with a decrease of 45 and 63% compared to organic and abandoned orchards respectively. Earthworms from IPM orchards had intermediate values. This suggests that pesticide usage leads to the observed decrease of energy reserves in A. chlorotica. Thus the reduced insecticide use in IPM compared to conventional strategies, albeit significant, appears to be too small to result in pronounced effects on energy reserves in this earthworm species.

Effect of management strategies on arthropod communities in the colonies of rosy apple aphid, Dysaphis plantaginea Passerini (Hemiptera: Aphididae) in south-eastern France

Apple orchardists are encouraged to adopt pest control strategies with less pesticide use and thus less harmful environmental impacts. In this study, we compared the possible effects of organic, integrated pest management (IPM), and conventional protection strategies on the rosy apple aphid-ant-natural enemy communities in 12 apple orchards in south-eastern France in 2008 and 2009. The organic orchards had the smallest aphid populations and the most diverse and abundant natural enemy populations compared with the other orchards. More diverse and abundant natural enemy populations were observed in IPM compared with conventional orchards. In 2009, the aphid abundance in IPM orchards was, however, significantly higher than in conventional orchards. No significant differences in ant densities were observed among protection strategies in 2008, but in 2009, these densities were significantly higher in conventional compared with organic orchards. Three predator groups were the most common: Coccinellidae, Forficulidae, and Syrphidae. These were significantly more abundant in organic orchards than in the other orchards, except in 2008 when there was no significant difference in syrphid and earwig abundance between organic and IPM orchards. Parasitoids were significantly more abundant in organic orchards in 2009 but not in 2008. The smaller number of aphids in organic orchards appears to results from the absence of toxic insecticides and thus to increased natural enemies compared with other orchards. Our findings emphasize the importance of no or less intensive synthetic pesticide usage for the conservation of natural enemies biodiversity and biological control of rosy apple aphid in apple orchards.

THE PRESENCE OF BENEFICIAL ARTHROPODS IN ORGANIC VERSUS IPM PEAR ORCHARDS AND THEIR ABILITY TO PREDATE PEAR SUCKERS (CACOPSYLLA PYRI)

In Belgium, two cultivation methods of pear are widely applied, namely organic farming and integrated pest management (IPM). Organic pear orchards are characterized by the use of green techniques such as natural fertilizers and the restricted use of crop protection products, whereas integrated pest management combines a well-tuned integration of biological pest control and crop protection treatments. It is generally considered that these two cultivation methods have different effects on the density of beneficial arthropods in the orchard and the occurrence of common pests as well. Therefore, a large-scale monitoring study was executed comprising extensive samplings throughout the year in 14 pear orchards and comparing beneficial fauna population developments between organic and IPM pear orchards. Pear sucker (Cacopsylla sp. or pear psylla) which is considered the major pest of pear in Belgium, was monitored as well. Organic orchards clearly displayed a lower pear psylla pressure correlating with higher proportions of specific predator populations, particularly velvet mites (Trombidiidae) and spiders (Araneae). IPM orchards showed higher numbers of Anthocoris spp. in summer. In addition, predation of C. pyri was verified by PCR-based gut content analysis. Regarding the results of this prey-predator PCR, Anthocoridae had the highest chance for detection of psyllid DNA in their gut. Velvet mites also scored particularly well for the PCR detections, indicating that other arthropods besides Anthocoridae could have an impact on the psyllid pressure in a pear orchard.

Relationships between management practices and ground-active invertebrate biodiversity in New Zealand kiwifruit orchards

Increasing the biodiversity of agro-ecosystems may benefit rare and native species, improve ecosystem services and increase grower incomes through higher value eco-verified orchard products. Previous research has shown that the taxonomic richness of invertebrates in organic kiwifruit orchards is significantly higher than in integrated pest management (IPM) orchards, suggesting that orchard management practices may affect invertebrate biodiversity. We used multiple regression models to investigate the relationships between the diversity of ground-active invertebrates in three functional groups [natural enemies, herbivores, detritivores (including fungivores)] and 14 management practices used on 10 organic and 10 IPM orchards. The significant relationships between the management variables and invertebrate communities differed for each functional group: (i) the greater diversity of natural enemy and detritivore taxa in organic orchards was significantly correlated with less toxic agrichemical sprays; (ii) greater amounts of vegetative ground cover in the organic orchards was significantly correlated with a greater diversity of detritivore and herbivore taxa; and (iii) differences in magnesium application rates explained some of the variation in the herbivore and detritivore communities. Management practices on IPM kiwifruit orchards could be altered to increase invertebrate biodiversity, which also may improve ecosystem services on these orchards; however, care should be taken to ensure that pest populations do not also benefit from these changes.

Management strategies in apple orchards influence earwig community

Our aim was to assess whether different apple orchard management strategies (low-input, organic, Integrated Pest Management (IPM)) would have an effect on earwigs, which are important natural enemies of apple pests. These commercial orchards were as well compared to abandoned orchards. The density of Forficula auricularia and Forficula pubescens was studied for three years in 74 orchards around Avignon. The pesticide usage, some orchard characteristics and two small-scale landscape parameters were characterized. Pesticide use was significantly different between low-input, organic and IPM orchards with particularly significant differences in the number of insecticide applications (2.2, 4.9 and 9.2 respectively). Pesticide use had a much stronger impact on earwig community than other characteristics. F. auricularia density was significantly lower in IPM orchards (0.47 individuals per tree) compared to organic, low-input and abandoned orchards (3.1, 4.5 and 1.6 individuals per tree, respectively). F. pubescens was almost absent from IPM orchards and its abundance was higher in abandoned or low-input orchards compared to organic orchards (1.5 and 2.8 vs 0.8 individuals per tree). The percentage of F. pubescens in the earwig community decreased from abandoned (52%) to low-input (40%), organic (15%) and IPM orchards (0.5%). These results were confirmed by LD50 assays showing that for the two pesticides causing mortality close to normal application rates (chlorpyrifos-ethyl and acetamiprid), F. pubescens was significantly more sensitive than F. auricularia. Since earwigs are also easy to capture and identify, they may be useful to estimate the effects of management strategies and their modification in pome fruit orchards.

Impact of pest control strategies on the arthropodofauna living in bird nests built in nestboxes in pear and apple orchards

Pesticide applications have a strong impact on biodiversity in agroecosystems. The present study aimed to assess the impact of pest control strategies on the arthropodofauna of Parus major nests built within nestboxes installed in orchards. Unlike many studied groups, these arthropod communities are not in direct contact with pesticide sprays (on account of their being sheltered by nestboxes) and are also unable to move away from the treated area. In this pilot study, we estimated the prevalence and the taxonomic and ecological diversities of arthropodofauna sampled in the nests and assessed the extent to which the whole and nest-specific arthropodofauna were affected by pest control strategies. Sixteen different insect and arachnid Primary Taxonomic Groups (PTGs, order level or below) were found in nests. The best represented PTGs (≥10% occurrence in years 2007 and 2008) were Psocoptera (Insecta, detritivorous/saprophagous), detritivorous/saprophagous Astigmata (Acari) and hematophagous Mesostigmata (Acari). Pest control strategies had a large impact on the prevalence of arthropods in nests, with higher proportions of nests hosting arthropods in organic orchards than in conventional orchards and with intermediate proportions in nests in Integrated Pest Management orchards. In contrast, pest control strategies had no significant effect on the composition of the arthropod communities when only nests hosting nidicolous arthropods were considered.

Efficacy of alternative methods in controlling of bull’s eye rot (Pezicula spp.)Skuteczność proekologicznych metod ochrony jabłek przed gorzką zgnilizną (Pezicula spp.)

Summary Effectiveness of bioproducts (BoniProtect®, Polyversum WP, Effective Microorganism – EM) used as spraying of trees before harvest or as dipping of apples after harvest (BoniProtect®, Yield Plus, EM, hot water) in the control of bull’s eye rot (Pezicula spp.) was evaluated. BoniProtect® and EM regardless of use were not effective. Polyversum WP applied in organic orchard was not effective, but in two orchards with Integrated Pest Management (IPM) it showed a low efficacy (30–40%) and in two others IPM orchards appeared to be highly effective (80%). Yield Plus used in a form of dipping apples did not reduce bull’s eye rot. The most effective method was hot water treatment (effectiveness 80–100%). For apples cultivars Topaz and Pinova optimal temperature was 48–49°C, and time – 2 minutes.

Determination of Pesticide Residues in Integrated Pest Management and Nonintegrated Pest Management Samples of Apple (Malus pumilaMill.)

Studies were undertaken to analyze the residues of commonly used pesticides viz. chlorpyrifos, endosulfan, dicofol, cypermethrin, fenvalerate, propargite, malathion, phorate, carbendazim, carbosulfan, thiamethoxam, and mancozeb in apple of integrated pest management (IPM) and non-IPM samples collected from the IPM and non-IPM fields of Shimla. We also present a method for the determination of these pesticides in apple samples. Residues of chlorpyrifos, endosulfan, dicofol, cypermethrin, fenvalerate, and propargite were analyzed by gas chromatography, while residues of carbendazim, carbosulfan, and thiamethoxam were analyzed by high-performance liquid chromatography. Residues of mancozeb were determined by a colorimetric method. Recoveries of all of the pesticides ranged from 61.30 to 95.46% at 0.1, 0.2, and 1.0 microg g(-1) levels of fortification with relative standard deviations ranging between 0.8 and 8.7. Apples from IPM and non-IPM orchards were analyzed for these pesticides using a developed method. Except for carbendazim and chlorpyrifos, the residues of all of the pesticides analyzed were below detectable limits. Although residues of carbendazim and chlorpyrifos were below the prescribed limits of maximum residue levels in both IPM and non-IPM orchards, residues were lower in apples from IPM orchards.

Determination of pesticide residues in IPM and non-IPM samples of mango (Mangifera indica)

Studies were conducted to analyze the residue of commonly used pesticides viz. methyl parathion, chloropyrifos, endosulfan, cypermethrin, fenvalerate, carbendazim, imidacloprid and carbaryl in mango, Dashehari variety, integrated pest management (IPM) and non-IPM samples were collected from the IPM and non-IPM orchards, Lucknow, India. We also present a method for the simultaneous determination of these pesticides in mango samples. Residues of methyl parathion, chloropyriphos, endosulfan, cypermethrin, fenvalerate were extracted from the samples with acetone: cyclohexane: ethyl acetate in the ratio 2:1:1 followed by cleanup using neutral alumina. Analysis was performed by gas chromatography-electron capture detector (GC-ECD) with a megabore column (OV-1). Residues of carbendazim, imidacloprid and carbaryl were extracted with acetone and after cleanup, analysis was performed by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) using photo diode array (PDA) detector. Recoveries of all the pesticides ranged between 72.7 – 110.6%, at 0.1 and 1.0 μg g− 1 level of fortification. The residues detected in non-IPM samples of mango were found to be below the prescribed limits of maximum residue limit (MRL) while IPM samples were free from pesticide residues.

The importance of forecasting and warning systems in implementation of integrated pest management in apple orchards in Turkey*

Integrated Pest Management (IPM) has been widely implemented in apple orchards in various regions of Turkey. Between 1995 and 1999, in Central Anatolia and the Aegean Region, apple scab (Venturia inequalis) and codling moth (Cydia pomonella) were key pests, and implementation of pest control was based on forecasting and warning systems. During the project, orchards in which IPM was implemented and in which farmers applied conventional practices were compared. In nine provinces in which IPM projects were carried out in 1999, the damage due to codling moth was 0–1.3% in IPM orchards while it was 0.4–21.8% in nearby non‐IPM orchards. It is clear that damage did not reach the acceptable threshold level of 2% in any of the IPM orchards, while damage was much higher than the threshold in conventionally‐farmed orchards. The number of fungicide applications against apple scab decreased to 5–6 applications from 10–15 applications in the Eğirdir district of the Isparta Province in 1996 as a result of IPM implementation. No insecticides were applied against codling moth in IPM orchards in the Nigde Province in 1998 and 1999 because population levels of the pest were low and under the economic threshold. Apple producers received training and 1200 producers from Central Anatolia became experts in IPM for their own orchards, learning to make appropriate decisions about pest control. The Apple IPM Guideline was prepared and disseminated. In Turkey modern equipment for forecasting and warning systems was employed and, in the last decade, forecasting and warning networks have been improved. Computer‐based systems have increased the speed and accuracy of forecasting as well as decreasing its costs. A computerized national forecasting network in apple orchards now transmits data from the field to system headquarters automatically. The national forecasting network has been expanded and covered 12 208 800 apple trees in 34 provinces in 2006, using 115 electronic forecasting and warning stations.

Great Tits (Parus major) Reduce Caterpillar Damage in Commercial Apple Orchards

Alternative ways to control caterpillar pests and reduce the use of pesticides in apple orchards are in the interest of the environment, farmers and the public. Great tits have already been shown to reduce damage under high caterpillar density when breeding in nest boxes in an experimental apple orchard. We tested whether this reduction also occurs under practical conditions of Integrated Pest Management (IPM), as well as Organic Farming (OF), by setting up an area with nest boxes while leaving a comparable area as a control within 12 commercial orchards. We showed that in IPM orchards, but not in OF orchards, in the areas with breeding great tits, apples had 50% of the caterpillar damage of the control areas. Offering nest boxes to attract insectivorous passerines in orchards can thus lead to more limited pesticide use, thereby adding to the natural biological diversity in an agricultural landscape, while also being economically profitable to the fruit growers.