Alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) is a highly attractive plant host to Lygus spp. and is used as a trap crop in California organic strawberries to influence the dispersion and dispersal of these pests, particularly Lygus hesperus Knight. The abundance and distribution of Lygus spp. nymphs between two trap crops separated by 50 strawberry rows was analyzed in 2008 and 2010. Nymphs demonstrated a bimodal distribution in strawberries between trap crops, where nymphs were most abundant and aggregated in alfalfa, when compared with interior strawberry rows, where nymphs were less abundant. The majority of nymphs were concentrated in trap crops and nymphal densities in interior strawberry rows were well below economic thresholds. The movement of Lygus spp. from a marked alfalfa trap crop into adjacent strawberry rows or trap crops was also studied in 2008 and 2009 using a chicken egg albumin enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay mark-capture technique. The majority of marked-captured L. hesperus adults and Lygus spp. nymphs remained in alfalfa trap crops, rather than dispersing out into strawberry rows at 24 h, 48 h, and 2 wk, postprotein application. The attenuation of Lygus spp. movement in alfalfa associated with organic strawberries is a key component of successful trap cropping. A small percentage of marked adults and nymphs were captured in neighboring alfalfa trap crops, located 62 m from the point of protein application, highlighting the dispersal capacity of this key pest.

A key economic pest of strawberries in California is the western tarnished plant bug, Lygus hesperus Knight (Hemiptera:Miridae). Alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) is a highly attractive plant host to western tarnished plant bug, and we hypothesized that it can be successfully managed as a trap crop for pest suppression in strawberries. Completely randomized design trap cropping experiments were established on an organic strawberry farm from 2002 to 2004. Western tarnished plant bug adults and nymphs were significantly more abundant in alfalfa trap crops than in comparable edge strawberry rows. Over 3 experimental yr, twice-weekly summer vacuuming of alfalfa trap crops with a tractor-mounted vacuuming device reduced adult and nymph abundance by 72 and 90%, respectively, in trap crops. This summer vacuuming of alfalfa trap crops also significantly reduced damage caused by western tarnished plant bug in associated unvacuumed organic strawberries (June and July 2002, June 2003, and June and July 2004) compared with either an untreated control (2003) or the organic strawberry grower's standard whole field vacuuming treatment. Vacuuming of alfalfa trap crops reduces an organic grower's costs (tractor, tractor fuel, and driver time) by 78% compared with current whole field vacuuming practices. An economic analysis of a whole hectare model indicates that a positive return from the use of vacuumed trap crops could be realized in 2004. The overall potential positive net return for the 3 mo of vacuumed alfalfa trap crop treatments in 2004 was calculated at +$1,829/ha.

Alfalfa trap crops are currently used to manage Lygus spp. in organic strawberry fields on the California Central Coast. The retention of Lygus spp. in alfalfa creates aggregated distributions that provide improved opportunities for biological control by the introduced parasitoid Peristenus relictus (Ruthe). The abundance and distribution of P. relictus between two trap crops separated by 50 strawberry rows were analyzed in 2008 and 2010. Parasitism of Lygus spp. nymphs by P. relictus (measured by larval abundance and % parasitism) was greatest in alfalfa trap crops compared with strawberry rows. A significantly positive correlation between host nymphs and P. relictus larvae in and between trap crops was found. Movement of P. relictus adults from a marked alfalfa trap crop into adjacent strawberry rows or trap crops was also studied in 2008 and 2009 using a chicken egg-albumin enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay mark-capture technique. In 2008 and 2009, 85 and 49% of protein-marked wasps were captured from central trap crops, respectively, indicating that alfalfa trap crops act as a concentrated "host-density anchor" in organic strawberry fields.

Three different cotton production strategies [certified organic, conventionally grown, and reduced insecticide input/integrated pest management (IPM)] were compared in field-sized replicates in the Northern San Joaquin Valley (NSJV), California, from 1996 to 2001. We measured arthropod abundance, plant development, plant density, pesticide use, cost of production, lint quality and yields in the three treatments. Overall pest abundance was low, and a key cotton fruit pest,Lygus hesperusKnight, known as the western tarnished plant bug (WTPB), did not exceed action thresholds in any treatment. Organic fields had significantly more generalist insect predators than conventional fields during at least one seasonal interval in all but one year. While there were no significant differences in plant development, plant densities at harvest were lower in organic than conventional and IPM fields. Some measures of lint quality (color grade and bale leaf rating) were also lower in the organic treatment than in either the IPM or the conventional treatments. Synthetic insecticides, not allowed for use in organic production, were also used in significantly lower quantities in the IPM fields than in the conventional fields. Over the 6-year period of the study, IPM fields averaged 0.63 kg of active ingredient (AI) insecticide per hectare, as opposed to 1.02 kg AI ha−1for conventional fields, a reduction of 38%. Costs of production per bale were on average 37% higher for organic than for conventional cotton. This cost differential was primarily due to greater hand-weeding costs and significantly lower yields in organic cotton, compared with either IPM or conventional cotton. Average 6-year yields were 4.4, 5.4 and 6.7 bales ha−1for organic, IPM and conventional treatments, respectively. Low world cotton prices and the lack of premium prices for organic cotton are the primary obstacles for continued production in the NSJV.

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