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The Effect of perforated polyethylene sheeting on the alighting behaviour of aphids (Hemiptera: Aphididae) and their infestation of potato crops

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 July 2009

Anne L. Wilson  and
L. R. Taylor
Anne L. Wilson
Affiliation:
Department of Entomology, Rothamsted Experimental Station, Harpenden, Herts., UK
L. R. Taylor
Affiliation:
Department of Entomology, Rothamsted Experimental Station, Harpenden, Herts., UK
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Abstract

Potato plots in southern England were covered by polyethylene sheeting perforated by 9-mm slits that opened to permit expansion as the plants grew. The slits admitted rain and also some aphids. Covered plants received 93% less immigrant aphids than exposed plants. The greatest protection was from Myzus persicae (Sulz.) (99%), whilst noncolonising species were reduced by 77%. It is improbable that the barrier to movement presented by the polyethylene would differentiate between incoming species or that M. persicae, for which potato is a preferred host, would escape more readily once inside the cover. This suggests that the behavioural barrier to alighting is in response to the reflection of high wavelength light at the polyethylene surface which affected M. persicae more than other species. The method has potential in protection of crops from aphids.

Type
Original Articles
Information
Bulletin of Entomological Research , Volume 71 , Issue 3 , September 1981 , pp. 395 - 402
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1981

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