100(4)_str50

ISSN 1392-3196 / e-ISSN 2335-8947
Zemdirbyste-Agriculture, vol. 100, No. 4 (2013), p. 393–400
DOI  10.13080/z-a.2013.100.050

Weevil (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) assemblages in the fields of narrow-leafed lupin sown as pure stand and intercropped with spring triticale

Michał HUREJ, Jacek Piotr TWARDOWSKI, Marcin KOZAK

Abstract

Intercropping is an important cultural practice in pest management and is based on the principle of reducing insect pests by increasing the diversity of an ecosystem. The aim of the study was to determine the abundance and species composition of weevil assemblages noted in the fields of narrow-leafed pure stands lupin and lupin intercropped with spring triticale. Weevils (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) in mixed crops were studied at Wrocław University of Environmental and Life Sciences, Poland, in 2010–2012. The experiment was designed as a split-plot with four replicates for each mixture of plants. Lupin and triticale were sown at three different proportions. The abundance of adult weevils was recorded using pitfall traps. The feeding damage caused by adult beetles on lupin plants was monitored weekly. Weevils were more numerous in the pure stands of lupin than in those intercropped with triticale. Usually more species were found in the pure stands of lupin than in mixtures. In each year, the dominant species in all the three treatments was Charagmus griseus. Sitona macularius and Ch. gressorius were also abundant. The seasonal fluctuations of the number of notches caused by weevils on the leaf margins were similar in all treatments, irrespective of the lupin seed ratio in the intercropping system.

Key words: lupin, mixed crops, pest, species composition, Triticosecale.

Full text: 100_4_str50.pdf