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Relative attractiveness of Brassica napus, Brassica nigra, Eruca sativa and Raphanus sativus for pollen beetle (Meligethes aeneus) and their potential for use in trap cropping

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Abstract

Oilseed rape (Brassica napus) is a valuable crop, attacked by several insect pests, of which the pollen beetle (Meligethes aeneus) is one of the most widespread and important in Europe. The relative attractiveness for the pollen beetle of Brassica nigra, Eruca sativa and Raphanus sativus was compared with that of spring oilseed rape, to assess the potential of these plant species as trap crops for the pest. At early growth stages, B. nigra and R. sativus were more attractive to over-wintered adult pollen beetles than B. napus. At the bud and flowering stages, B. nigra was the most attractive while E. sativa was the least attractive. At flowering, B. nigra was more attractive for oviposition than the other species. Thus, of the species tested, B. nigra has the most potential as a prospective trap crop to protect spring oilseed rape before flowering when it is at its most vulnerable developmental phase, due to its faster development and its acceptability both for feeding and oviposition to overwintered pollen beetle adults. Raphanus sativus was accepted both for feeding and oviposition, but pollen beetle larvae failed to develop in its flowers; it therefore has the potential for use as a dead-end crop. At the end of the growing season, both E. sativa and R. sativus, as late-flowering species, attracted the new generation of pollen beetles and thereby have potential to extend the effectiveness of a trap-cropping system at this time.

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Acknowledgments

We thank Sam Cook for her valuable advice and suggestions on earlier drafts of this paper. We also thank all the anonymous reviewers for their constructive and helpful criticism of an earlier manuscript. This study was supported by the grant 7130 and 8895 of the Estonian Science Foundation, and the Estonian Ministry of Education and Research-targeted financing project no. SF 0170057s09 and the project P9003PKPK.

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  1. Institute of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, Estonian University of Life Sciences, Kreutzwaldi 1, Tartu, 51014, Estonia

    E. Veromann, L. Metspalu, I. H. Williams, K. Hiiesaar, M. Mand, R. Kaasik, G. Kovács, K. Jogar, E. Svilponis, I. Kivimagi, A. Ploomi & A. Luik

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  1. E. Veromann
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Correspondence to E. Veromann.

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Handling editors: Samantha M. Cook and Heikki Hokkanen.

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Veromann, E., Metspalu, L., Williams, I.H. et al. Relative attractiveness of Brassica napus, Brassica nigra, Eruca sativa and Raphanus sativus for pollen beetle (Meligethes aeneus) and their potential for use in trap cropping. Arthropod-Plant Interactions 6, 385–394 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11829-012-9191-6

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