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Lewis MT, Fleischer SJ, Roberts DC. Horticultural Production Systems Influence Ground Beetle (Coleoptera: Carabidae) Distribution and Diversity in Cucurbits. Environ Entomol. 2016;45(3):559-569doi: 10.1093/ee/nvw013.
Lewis, M. T., Fleischer, S. J., & Roberts, D. C. (2016). Horticultural Production Systems Influence Ground Beetle (Coleoptera: Carabidae) Distribution and Diversity in Cucurbits. Environmental entomology, 45(3), 559-569. https://doi.org/10.1093/ee/nvw013
Lewis, M T, et al. "Horticultural Production Systems Influence Ground Beetle (Coleoptera: Carabidae) Distribution and Diversity in Cucurbits." Environmental entomology vol. 45,3 (2016): 559-569. doi: https://doi.org/10.1093/ee/nvw013
Lewis MT, Fleischer SJ, Roberts DC. Horticultural Production Systems Influence Ground Beetle (Coleoptera: Carabidae) Distribution and Diversity in Cucurbits. Environ Entomol. 2016 Jun 01;45(3):559-569. doi: 10.1093/ee/nvw013. PMID: 26994134.
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Environ Entomol. 2016 Jun 01;45(3):559-569. doi: 10.1093/ee/nvw013.

Horticultural Production Systems Influence Ground Beetle (Coleoptera: Carabidae) Distribution and Diversity in Cucurbits.

Environmental entomology

M T Lewis, S J Fleischer, D C Roberts

Affiliations

  1. 1Department of Entomology, University of Maryland, 4112 Plant Sciences Bldg., College Park, MD 20742 ([email protected]).
  2. 3Department of Entomology, Pennsylvania State University, 501 ASI Bldg., University Park, PA 16802 ([email protected]; [email protected]).

PMID: 26994134 DOI: 10.1093/ee/nvw013

Abstract

Commercial cucurbit production typically involves agriculturally intensive practices, with fields prepared using conventional tillage, plasticulture, and chemically based pest management. Conservation-based management options are limited. In this study, we consider two alternative strategies, strip tillage and the use of row covers. We compare their impact on the beneficial carabid beetle (Coleoptera: Carabidae) community in melons and squash, following conventional or organic systems, over two years. Multivariate analysis demonstrated that soil management system (strip tillage versus plasticulture) was the primary variable influencing carabid distribution; row cover was a less important factor. The response to soil management was species dependent. Some dominant species, such as Harpalus pensylvanicus DeGeer, demonstrated no preference for a particular soil treatment. For others, including the tiger beetle, Cicindela punctulata Olivier, and a slug predator, Chlaenius tricolor Dejean, activity-density was higher in strip-tillage production systems. Our analysis suggested that strip-tillage production systems support a richer, more diverse carabid community. These results demonstrate that even within intensive annual horticultural systems, production practices can play a critical role in shaping the beneficial arthropod community, potentially encouraging or limiting ecosystem services.

© The Authors 2016. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Entomological Society of America. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: [email protected].

Keywords: Carabidae; Cucurbitaceae; conservation tillage; row cover

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