EFFECT of HOST PLANT and LAND USE on CABBAGE SEED WEEVIL INFESTATION and ASSOCIATED PARASITOIDS GABRIELLA KOVÁCS a Thesis for A
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EFFECT OF HOST PLANT AND LAND USE ON CABBAGE SEED WEEVIL INFESTATION AND ASSOCIATED PARASITOIDS PEREMEESTAIME JA MAAKASUTUSE MÕJU KÕDRA-PEITKÄRSAKA KAHJUSTUSE JA PARASITEERITUSE TASEMELE GABRIELLA KOVÁCS A Thesis for applying for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Agricultural Sciences Väitekiri filosoofiadoktori kraadi taotlemiseks põllumajanduse erialal Tartu 2018 Eesti Maaülikooli doktoritööd Doctoral Theses of the Estonian University of Life Sciences EFFECT OF HOST PLANT AND LAND USE ON CABBAGE SEED WEEVIL INFESTATION AND ASSOCIATED PARASITOIDS PEREMEESTAIME JA MAAKASUTUSE MÕJU KÕDRA-PEITKÄRSAKA KAHJUSTUSE JA PARASITEERITUSE TASEMELE GABRIELLA KOVÁCS A Thesis for applying for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Agricultural Sciences Väitekiri filosoofiadoktori kraadi taotlemiseks põllumajanduse erialal Tartu 2018 Institute of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences Estonian University of Life Sciences According to verdict No. 6-14/5-2, of November 5, 2018, the Doctoral Committee of Agricultural Sciences of the Estonian University of Life Sciences has accepted the thesis for the defence of the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Agricultural Sciences. Opponent: Prof. József Kiss Szent István University, Hungary Supervisors: Assoc. Prof. Eve Veromann Estonian University of Life Sciences Prof. Anne Luik, professor emeritus Estonian University of Life Sciences Defence of the thesis: Estonian University of Life Sciences, room 2A1, Fr. R. Kreutzwaldi 5, Tartu on December 12, 2018, at 10:00. The thesis was edited using Elsevier’s Language Editing Express Service. The Estonian summary was edited by Kalle Hein. This research was supported by European Social Fund’s Doctoral Studies and Internationalization Programme DoRa, carried out by Foundation Archimedes. The publication of this thesis was supported by the Estonian University ofLife Sciences. �������������� ��������� ������������������ �������������� ���������������� © Gabriella Kovács, 2018 ISSN 2382-7076 ISBN 978-9949-629-52-7 (trükis) ISBN 978-9949-629-53-4 (pdf) CONTENTS LIST OF ORIGINAL PUBLICATIONS ......................................... 7 1. INTRODUCTION ................................................................... 8 2. LITERATURE REVIEW ......................................................... 10 2.1 Oilseed rape (Brassica napus L.) ........................................ 10 2.2 Cabbage seed weevil (Ceutorhynchus obstrictus Marsham) .. 11 2.3 Parasitoids of Ceutorhynchus obstrictus .............................. 12 2.4 Strategies to enhance natural pest control by parasitoids ... 13 2.4.1 Secondary or biocontrol plants ..................................14 2.4.2 Land use ...................................................................15 3. HYPOTHESES AND AIM OF THE STUDY ........................ 17 4. MATERIALS AND METHODS ............................................. 18 4.1 Study area and experimental design .................................. 18 4.1.1 Small plot studies with spring-sown host plants .........18 4.1.2 Land use studies in and around winter oilseed rape fields ...........................................................................19 4.3 Insect sampling ................................................................ 20 4.4 Statistical analysis ............................................................. 21 4.4.1 Analysis of the effect of host plants ............................21 4.4.2 Analysis of the influence of land use ..........................22 5. RESULTS ................................................................................. 24 5.1 The effect of host plants ................................................... 24 5.1.1 Infestation rate of spring-sown host plant pods with Ceutorhynchus obstrictus ..................................................... 24 5.1.2 Parasitism rate of Ceutorhynchus obstrictus and the species composition of the parasitoid community .............. 25 5.2 The influence of land use .................................................. 27 5.2.1 Infestation rate of winter-sown oilseed rape with Ceutorhynchus obstrictus ..................................................... 27 5.2.2 Parasitism rate of Ceutorhynchus obstrictus and the species composition of the parasitoid community .............. 28 6. DISCUSSION ......................................................................... 30 6.1 The effect of host plants on Ceutorhynchus obstrictus infestation and its parasitoids ........................................... 30 6.2 The influence of land use on Ceutorhynchus obstrictus infestation and its parasitoids ........................................... 31 6.3 Suggestions for future studies ............................................ 34 7. CONCLUSIONS .................................................................... 35 REFERENCES ............................................................................... 37 SUMMARY IN ESTONIAN .......................................................... 47 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ........................................................... 52 ORIGINAL PUBLICATIONS ....................................................... 55 CURRICULUM VITAE ................................................................ 97 ELULOOKIRJELDUS ................................................................. 100 LIST OF PUBLICATIONS .......................................................... 102 6 LIST OF ORIGINAL PUBLICATIONS This thesis is based on the following papers, which are referred to by their Roman numerals in the text. All papers are reproduced with the kind permission of the publishers. I Kovács, G.; Kaasik, R.; Metspalu, L.; Williams, I.H.; Luik, A.; Vero- mann E. 2013. Could Brassica rapa, Brassica juncea and Sinapis alba facilitate the control of the cabbage seed weevil in oilseed rape crops? Biological Control, 65: 124–129 II Kovács, G.; Kaasik, R.; Kaart, T.; Metspalu, L.; Luik, A.; Veromann, E. 2017. In search of secondary plants to enhance the efficiency of cab- bage seed weevil management. BioControl, 62: 29–38 III Kovács, G.; Kaasik, R.; Treier, K.; Luik, A.; Veromann E. 2016. Do different field bordering elements affect cabbage seed weevil dam- age and its parasitism rate differently in winter oilseed rape? IOBC- WPRS Bulletin, 116: 75-80 IV Kovács, G.; Kaasik, R.; Lof, M.; van der Werf, W.; Kaart, T.; Hol- land, J.H.; Luik, A.; Veromann, E. 2018. Effects of land use on infestation and parasitism rates of cabbage seed weevil in oilseed rape. Pest Management Science DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/ps.5161 The contribution of Gabriella Kovács to the papers was the following: Paper I II III IV Idea and study design * * * Data collection * * * Data analyses and interpretation * * * * Manuscript preparation * * * * 7 1. INTRODUCTION The cabbage seed weevil (Ceutorhynchus obstrictus Marsham, other scientific name C. assimilis sensu auctt. non Paykull, Coleoptera: Curcu- lionidae) is one of the key pests of oilseed rape (OSR; Brassica napus L., Capparales: Brassicaceae) (Alford et al. 2003), the most dominant oilseed crop produced in the European Union (USDA 2018a). European OSR growers have been relying mainly on neonicotinoid (systemic insecti- cide – seed treatment) and pyrethroid (contact insecticide – foliar spray) applications against insect pests. The use of these treatments however has been proven to be problematic, causing resistance development in insect pests and being harmful towards non-target organisms, including ben- eficial arthropods (pollinators, parasitoids, predators). Hence, the need for more sustainable pest management strategies has been increasing for some time, especially in recent years, due to the changed legislations of the European Union. In 2013, the European Commission (EC) partially and temporarily banned the use of three neonicotinoids (clothianidin, thiamethoxam, and imidacloprid) in pollinator-attractive crops (Euro- pean Commission 2013) because of their harmful effect on several bee species (EFSA 2013a, b, c). Based on new evidence (EFSA 2018), the ban will be extended to all outdoor use (Butler 2018) in the future. As an outcome, farmers are left with the only widely available insecticide class, pyrethroids, which, if over-used, might worsen the resistance problem and increase detrimental non-target effects, highlighting the need for alternative approaches. In 2014, one of the most important measures of Directive 2009/128/EC on the “sustainable use of pesticides” entered into force, making integrated pest management (IPM) compulsory in the European Union (European Commission 2009). IPM prioritizes crop- ping practices that minimise the disruption to agro-ecosystems and rely on natural pest control mechanisms as much as possible. These mecha- nisms have an essential role in sustainable agriculture by providing the potential to reduce the need for chemical insecticide application. Through conservation biological control (CBC; Barbosa 1998; Gurr et al. 1998; Jonsson et al. 2008), agricultural landscapes could be manipulated in a way that promotes biological pest control. For example, this could be achieved at the field scale by introducing biocontrol plants (Parolin et al. 2012a, 2014) (attractive or repellent plants) into the cropping system, or at the landscape scale by reconsidering/modifying land use, the composi- 8 tion and location of different habitat types within the landscape. To be able to effectively implement these practices, knowledge is required on i) the most efficient biocontrol plant species to use, and ii) key habitat types that support