The impact of cover crops on the predatory mite Anystis baccarum (Acari, Anystidae) and the leafhopper pest Empoasca onukii (Hemiptera, Cicadellidae) in a tea plantation

Abstract

BACKGROUND Empoasca onukii, the tea green leafhopper, is a key pest of tea whose control often requires the extensive use of insecticides. As a predator of the tea green leafhopper, the mite Anystis baccarum is a potential biological control agent worldwide, though little is known about how intercropping cover crops can impact its suppressing effect on E. onukii. Therefore, we conducted a field experiment to investigate how the relationship of the abundance of the predatory mite and its leafhopper prey is influenced by two different cover crops and a manually weeded inter‐row treatment as a contrast to naturally growing vegetation in a tea plantation in China. RESULTS The abundance of A. baccarum was significantly higher in tea canopies of intercropped treatments than in canopies over natural ground cover. Litter samples showed higher abundances of A. baccarum when tea was intercropped with Paspalum notatum than with natural ground cover in the first year of treatment. The abundance of E. onukii in tea canopies was higher over the bare ground treatment in the first year but the opposite was observed in the second year. CONCLUSIONS Results suggest that the abundance of A. baccarum in a tea plantation is influenced by intercropping and it can affect its leafhopper prey, albeit with varying levels of suppression. For informing biological control and suppression of pests, long‐term experiments are needed to investigate the interactions of both pest and predator with cover crop treatments. © 2019 Society of Chemical Industry

The expression and function of opsin genes related to the phototactic behavior of Asian citrus psyllid

“…Hemiptera have caused heavy economic losses in many crops, including fruit, vegetables and cereal . However, little information is available about the function of opsin in Hemiptera, therefore more research is imperative.…”

Effects of cover crops on beetle assemblages in tea plantations

“…Nevertheless, weeded, bare ground rows (Bar) also showed significantly higher species richness than in the control. The underlying mechanisms of the two significant differences, however, are probably different; C. rotundifolia likely attracts beneficial insects by providing shelter or other resources (Chen et al , 2019a, b), whereas bare soil surfaces open up opportunities for ambush predators to easily find prey (Schmidt & Rypstra, 2010). Since these normally generalist species that are specifically adapted to disturbed habitats are more likely to stay in the adjacent field margins, their long-term value in tea canopies as biological control agents may be limited.…”

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Susceptibility of Selected Tea Shoots to Oviposition by Empoasca onukii (Hemiptera: Cicadellidae) and Feasibility of Egg Removal with Harvesting

“…However, these applications represent increased costs for tea growers and can have adverse effects on the environment and on natural enemy populations which can result in pest resurgence [ 1 , 11 ]. Alternatively, numerous other control agents and methods against this pest have been proposed, including biological control [ 12 ], physical control [ 13 ], and chemical intervention [ 14 , 15 , 16 ]. However, the management of this pest remains challenging.…”