Effect of Weed Management on the Parasitoid Community in Mediterranean Vineyards.

ABSTRACT: Enriching agroecosystems with non-crop vegetation is a popular strategy for conservation biocontrol. In vineyards, the effects of specific seeded or planted cover crops on natural enemies are well-studied, whereas conserving spontaneously developing weeds received less attention. We compared parasitoid communities between matched pairs of vineyard plots in northern Israel, differing in weed management practices: "herbicide", repeated herbicide applications vs. "ground cover", maintaining resident weeds and trimming them when needed. Using suction sampling, we assessed the parasitoids' abundance, richness, and composition during three grape-growing seasons. Ground cover plots had greater parasitoid abundances and cumulative species richness than herbicide-treated plots, possibly because of

SUBMITTER: Gabriella M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7823956 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature