Getting More Power from Your Flowers: Multi-Functional Flower Strips Enhance Pollinators and Pest Control Agents in Apple Orchards.

ABSTRACT: Flower strips are commonly recommended to boost biodiversity and multiple ecosystem services (e.g., pollination and pest control) on farmland. However, significant knowledge gaps remain regards the extent to which they deliver on these aims. Here, we tested the efficacy of flower strips that targeted different subsets of beneficial arthropods (pollinators and natural enemies) and their ecosystem services in cider apple orchards. Treatments included mixes that specifically targeted: (1) pollinators ('concealed-nectar plants'); (2) natural enemies ('open-nectar plants'); or (3) both groups concurrently (i.e., 'multi-functional' mix). Flower strips were established in alleyways of four orchards and compared to control alleyways (no flowers). Pollinator (e.g., bees) and natural enemy (e.g., pa

SUBMITTER: Campbell AJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5620721 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature