Abstract
Soil dwelling beetles contribute greatly to biodiversity and offer important services in agroecosystems including predation, weed herbivory and decomposition. An experiment was conducted in the 2013/2014 and 2014/2015 cropping seasons at Chinhoyi University of Technology experiment station, Zimbabwe, to investigate the impact of tillage system (conservation tillage and conventional tillage), fertilizer application rate and weeding intensity on beetle communities in maize. The experiment was laid out in a split-split plot using a randomized complete block design and replicated three times. Beetles were sampled using un-baited pitfall traps. A total of 6020 beetles were collected comprising 53 species, nine families and four functional groups. Tillage system had the strongest effects on beetle diversity. Advanced constrained analysis using principal response curves revealed that the abundances of Anchophthalmus oncotipes decreased under conservation tillage. In contrast, abundances of Zophosis boei, Gonocephalum simplex, Renatiella reticulata and Stenethmus tentyriniformis increased under conservation tillage relative to conventiona tillage (CT). Detritivore abundances were 50.8% and 45% greater under rip line seeding than CT during the hot dry season of 2014 and cold dry season of 2015, respectively. Predator abundances were almost double in basin planting relative to CT during the cold dry season of 2014 and hot humid season of 2015. In the 2014/2015 cropping season, maize grain yield significantly increased (P < 0.05) from 4963 kg ha−1 in CT to 7848 kg ha−1 in basin planting tillage. Application of a high rate of fertilizer increased maize grain yield by 31.2% compared to the low and medium fertilizer application rates. Weeding twice resulted in the highest maize grain yield but there was no yield benefit in increasing weeding intensity more than twice per season. Our results suggest that there is potential for increasing density and diversity of beneficial beetle species through conservation tillage with crop residue retention.
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Claims 14
Claim · model-written summary
Tillage system had the strongest effects on beetle diversity in maize.
Not reportedComparator
Verbatim
e1“Tillage system had the strongest effects on beetle diversity”
Claim · model-written summary
Abundance of Anchophthalmus oncotipes decreased under conservation tillage.
- Taxon
- Anchophthalmus oncotipese1
- Treatment
- conservation tillagee1
- Outcome
- abundancese1
- Direction
- decreasede1
Not reportedComparator
Verbatim
e1“the abundances of Anchophthalmus oncotipes decreased under conservation tillage”
Claim · model-written summary
Zophosis boei abundance increased under conservation tillage relative to conventional tillage in maize.
Verbatim
e1“abundances of Zophosis boei, Gonocephalum simplex, Renatiella reticulata and Stenethmus tentyriniformis increased under conservation tillage relative to conventiona tillage (CT)”
Claim · model-written summary
Gonocephalum simplex abundance increased under conservation tillage relative to conventional tillage in maize.
Verbatim
e1“abundances of Zophosis boei, Gonocephalum simplex, Renatiella reticulata and Stenethmus tentyriniformis increased under conservation tillage relative to conventiona tillage (CT)”
Claim · model-written summary
Renatiella reticulata abundance increased under conservation tillage relative to conventional tillage in maize.
Verbatim
e1“abundances of Zophosis boei, Gonocephalum simplex, Renatiella reticulata and Stenethmus tentyriniformis increased under conservation tillage relative to conventiona tillage (CT)”
Claim · model-written summary
Stenethmus tentyriniformis abundance increased under conservation tillage relative to conventional tillage in maize.
Verbatim
e1“abundances of Zophosis boei, Gonocephalum simplex, Renatiella reticulata and Stenethmus tentyriniformis increased under conservation tillage relative to conventiona tillage (CT)”
Claim · model-written summary
Detritivore abundances were 50.8% greater under rip line seeding than conventional tillage in the hot dry season of 2014.
Verbatim
e1“Detritivore abundances were 50.8% and 45% greater under rip line seeding than CT during the hot dry season of 2014 and cold dry season of 2015, respectively”
Claim · model-written summary
Detritivore abundances were 45% greater under rip line seeding than conventional tillage in the cold dry season of 2015.
Verbatim
e1“Detritivore abundances were 50.8% and 45% greater under rip line seeding than CT during the hot dry season of 2014 and cold dry season of 2015, respectively”
Claim · model-written summary
Predator abundances were almost double in basin planting relative to conventional tillage in the cold dry season of 2014 and hot humid season of 2015.
Verbatim
e1“Predator abundances were almost double in basin planting relative to CT during the cold dry season of 2014 and hot humid season of 2015”
Claim · model-written summary
Maize grain yield rose significantly in the 2014/2015 season from 4963 kg/ha under conventional tillage to 7848 kg/ha under basin planting.
- Treatment
- basin planting tillagee1
- Outcome
- maize grain yielde1
- Direction
- increasede1
- Value
- 4963 kg ha−1 in CT to 7848 kg ha−1e1
- Comparator
- CTe1
Zea maysOrganisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e1“maize grain yield significantly increased (P < 0.05) from 4963 kg ha−1 in CT to 7848 kg ha−1 in basin planting tillage”
Claim · model-written summary
A high fertilizer rate increased maize grain yield by 31.2% compared with the low and medium rates.
- Treatment
- high rate of fertilizere1
- Outcome
- maize grain yielde1
- Direction
- increasede1
- Value
- 31.2%e1
- Comparator
- low and medium fertilizer application ratese1
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e1“Application of a high rate of fertilizer increased maize grain yield by 31.2% compared to the low and medium fertilizer application rates”
Claim · model-written summary
Weeding twice gave the highest maize grain yield.
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e1“Weeding twice resulted in the highest maize grain yield”
Claim · model-written summary
Increasing weeding intensity beyond twice per season gave no yield benefit in maize.
- Treatment
- increasing weeding intensity more than twice per seasone1
- Outcome
- yield benefite1
- Direction
- noe1
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e1“Weeding twice resulted in the highest maize grain yield but there was no yield benefit in increasing weeding intensity more than twice per season”
Claim · model-written summary
The authors conclude there is potential to increase density and diversity of beneficial beetle species through conservation tillage with crop residue retention.
Verbatim
e1“there is potential for increasing density and diversity of beneficial beetle species through conservation tillage with crop residue retention”
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