University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna (BOKU) - Research portal
Gewählte Doctoral Thesis:
Marion Landl
(2012):
Wireworms - herbivores in Austrian agricultural land.
Doctoral Thesis - Abteilung für Pflanzenschutz,
BOKU-Universität für Bodenkultur,
pp 31.
UB BOKU
obvsg
FullText
- Abstract:
- The studies were part of a scientific project on wireworms in Austria. The first study (Landl et al. 2010) deals with the estimation of the abundance of the adult Agriotes spp. above ground and their larvae, wirewoms, in the soil. Methods used to monitor the beetles and wireworms were sex-pheromone traps and bait traps respectively. Species constitution differs considerably between regions. In Upper Austria the species A. lineatus and in Lower Austria A. ustulatus was most common. A. brevis was common in Upper Austria but almost absent in Lower Austria. A striking discrepancy between the species composition of the adults and larvae caught was observed. This led to a further trial in which the effectiveness of different highly perforated bait traps were compared. The bait trap that had the most holes proved the most effective. The results demonstrated that bait traps are not capable of assessing the abundance of wireworms in soil. In the second study (Landl and Glauninger 2011) the question posed was if trap cropping could be an effective method for managing wireworms in potato crops. In a field trial the use of peas (Pisum sativum), wheat (Triticum aestivum) and oilseed radish (Raphanus sativus) as trap crops was investigated. Wireworms of the genera Agriotes, Adrastus and Hemicrepidius were observed. In the plots where peas were planted as the trap crop, most wireworms were observed. The potato rows 0.75m away from the peas showed 2.4 times more larvae than the potato rows 1.5m away. The reason for this may be because wireworms that were initially attracted to the peas moved back to the nearby potatoes. In the other plots there was no significant difference in the numbers of larvae between the potato rows. In the control plots, significantly more larvae were found in the potato rows than in the bare soil. Our results indicate that peas are more attractive to wireworms than potatoes and might be an effective trap crop if their cultivation is optimized.
- Betreuer: Glauninger Johann
- 1. Berater: Frank Thomas
- 2. Berater: Koschier Elisabeth Helene