Abstract
Introduction The Colorado potato beetle ( Leptinotarsa decemlineata ) (CPB) is a major threat to potato crops in Europe, Asia, and America. In Europe, it is expected that climate change will cause the species to expand its range northwards and allow for an additional generation per year in regions where it is already established. The effectiveness of insecticides, a common method of control, is decreasing due to the emergence of resistance to several substances. Therefore, research into alternative measures is becoming increasingly necessary. One preventive measure that has already been shown to have great effects in past studies is the use of organic mulch. For organic mulching, conserved or freshly cut plant material is spread on the field usually when the potato emerges. Previous research has mainly used cereal straw for this purpose in plots that are relatively small compared to actual agricultural fields. Materials and methods To address the lack of large-scale field trials in the literature, a series of on-station and on-farm field trials were conducted in this study. Organic, legume-rich mulches were used primarily, which so far have not been extensively investigated. Over a period of four years and in a total of six field trials, CPB and larval infestations were assessed. Results and discussion Our results show effects on the initial infestation of young plants by adult CPB and on the emergence time of the first two larval stages. By the time of flowering, when the feeding effect of CPB on yield is known to be greatest, L3 and L4 larvae were reduced by about 30% in the on-station trials and by about 40% in the on-farm trials. In addition, when CPB larval stages were used to calculate a weighted daily leaf consumption per stage, total calculated leaf consumption was on average about 40% lower in the mulch treatments across all sampling dates and all trials. The recorded yields were equal or higher in the mulched treatments. In conclusion, organic mulching can effectively reduce CPB damage even on a large scale and can have a positive impact on yield. Further agronomic benefits of mulching, as well as drawbacks and putative mechanisms of action, are discussed.
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Claims 8
Claim · model-written summary
Mulching affected initial infestation of young potato plants by adult beetles.
- Taxon
- potato
Solanum tuberosume1 - Treatment
- organic mulchinge2
- Interactor
- CPBe0pest
- Outcome
- initial infestation of young plants by adult CPBe0
Not reportedComparatorDirection
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Our results show effects on the initial infestation of young plants by adult CPB”
e1“potato crops”
e2“For organic mulching, conserved or freshly cut plant material”
Claim · model-written summary
Mulching affected emergence time of the first two beetle larval stages.
- Taxon
- potatoSolanum tuberosume1
- Treatment
- organic mulchinge2
- Interactor
- CPBe0pest
- Outcome
- emergence time of the first two larval stagese0
Not reportedComparatorDirection
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“effects on the initial infestation of young plants by adult CPB and on the emergence time of the first two larval stages”
e1“potato crops”
e2“For organic mulching, conserved or freshly cut plant material”
Claim · model-written summary
Mulching reduced L3 and L4 larvae by about 30% in on station trials at flowering.
- Taxon
- potatoSolanum tuberosume1
- Treatment
- mulch treatmentse2
- Interactor
- CPBe0pest
- Outcome
- L3 and L4 larvaee0
- Direction
- reducede0
- Value
- about 30%e0
- Qualifier
- By the time of floweringe0
- Setting
- on-station trialse0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“By the time of flowering, when the feeding effect of CPB on yield is known to be greatest, L3 and L4 larvae were reduced by about 30% in the on-station trials”
e1“potato crops”
e2“mulch treatments”
Claim · model-written summary
Mulching reduced L3 and L4 larvae by about 40% in on farm trials at flowering.
- Taxon
- potatoSolanum tuberosume1
- Treatment
- mulch treatmentse2
- Interactor
- CPBe3pest
- Outcome
- L3 and L4 larvaee0
- Direction
- reducede0
- Value
- about 40%e0
- Setting
- on-farm trialse0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“L3 and L4 larvae were reduced by about 30% in the on-station trials and by about 40% in the on-farm trials”
e1“potato crops”
e2“mulch treatments”
e3“feeding effect of CPB on yield”
Claim · model-written summary
Calculated beetle leaf consumption was about 40% lower with mulch.
- Taxon
- potatoSolanum tuberosume1
- Treatment
- mulch treatmentse0
- Interactor
- CPBe0pest
- Outcome
- total calculated leaf consumptione0
- Direction
- lowere0
- Value
- about 40%e0
- Qualifier
- across all sampling dates and all trialse0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“when CPB larval stages were used to calculate a weighted daily leaf consumption per stage, total calculated leaf consumption was on average about 40% lower in the mulch treatments across all sampling dates and all trials”
e1“potato crops”
Claim · model-written summary
Potato yields were equal or higher with mulch.
- Taxon
- potatoSolanum tuberosume1
- Treatment
- mulched treatmentse0
- Outcome
- recorded yieldse0
- Direction
- equal or highere0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“The recorded yields were equal or higher in the mulched treatments”
e1“potato crops”
Claim · model-written summary
The authors conclude that organic mulching can reduce beetle damage at large scale.
- Taxon
- potatoSolanum tuberosume1
- Interactor
- CPBe0pest
- Outcome
- organic mulching can effectively reduce CPB damage even on a large scalee0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“organic mulching can effectively reduce CPB damage even on a large scale”
e1“potato crops”
Claim · model-written summary
The authors conclude mulching can positively affect yield.
- Taxon
- potatoSolanum tuberosume2
- Treatment
- organic mulchinge1
- Outcome
- positive impact on yielde0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“can have a positive impact on yield”
e1“organic mulching can effectively reduce CPB damage”
e2“potato crops”
The same questions in other papers
mulching · yield · Solanum tuberosum (potato)Results differ
56 papers in the same direction as this paper · 7 in the opposite direction
- no effect
- positive
- positive
60 papers more in this group
See all 64 papers →mulching · pest · Solanum tuberosum (potato)Positive and negative results
11 papers in the same direction as this paper · 4 in the opposite direction
- positive
- positive
- positive
12 papers more in this group
See all 16 papers →Claims are grouped by organism, treatment and what was measured or targeted. A paper counts as positive when any of its claims in the group is positive.