Abstract
We investigated, within two cereal fields in
Southern England, the within-canopy spatial distribution of
the aphids Sitobion avenae and Metopolophium dirhodum
in relation to crop yield and plant nitrogen. We extended
the study to investigate the spatial distribution of aphids
that fell to, or returned from, the ground in order to estimate
availability of the within-canopy aphid population to
ground-active predators. We revealed that crop canopy
aphid spatial pattern was associated with nitrogen or yield.
Differences were evident between species: S. avenae was
generally negatively associated with yield or plant nitrogen,
whilst M. dirhodum exhibited positive association. For
both aphid species, we observed strong spatial pattern for
aphids falling to the ground and conclude that this could, in part, mediate the effectiveness of ground-active predators
as pest control agents.
Year
2013
Category
Refereed journal