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Early-season predation on aphids by winter-active spiders in apple orchards revealed by diagnostic PCR

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 November 2012

C. Boreau de Roincé ,
C. Lavigne ,
J.-F. Mandrin ,
C. Rollard  and
W.O.C. Symondson
C. Boreau de Roincé
Affiliation:
Centre Technique Interprofessionnel des Fruits et Légumes, Centre de Balandran, BP 32, 30127 Bellegarde, France INRA, UR 1115, Plantes et Systèmes de culture Horticoles, F-84000, Avignon, France Cardiff School of Biosciences, Cardiff University, Sir Martin Evans Building, Museum Avenue, Cardiff CF10 3AX, UK
C. Lavigne
Affiliation:
INRA, UR 1115, Plantes et Systèmes de culture Horticoles, F-84000, Avignon, France
J.-F. Mandrin
Affiliation:
Centre Technique Interprofessionnel des Fruits et Légumes, Centre de Balandran, BP 32, 30127 Bellegarde, France
C. Rollard
Affiliation:
Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle, Département Systématique & Evolution, USM OSEB, 61 rue Buffon, CP 53, 75005 Paris, France
W.O.C. Symondson*
Affiliation:
Cardiff School of Biosciences, Cardiff University, Sir Martin Evans Building, Museum Avenue, Cardiff CF10 3AX, UK
*
*Author for correspondence Fax: +44 (0)29 208 74116 E-mail: [email protected]
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Abstract

Aphids are major pests in apple orchards, debilitating the crop and spreading disease. We investigated whether early-season predation by canopy spiders may be effectively controlling aphid numbers in three organic orchards. For this purpose, we monitored the aphid population dynamics from the winter eggs to colony stages and compared this to spider abundances and rates of predation on aphids detected by diagnostic polymerase chain reaction. For the latter, we applied existing general aphid primers. We found that spiders ate colony fundatrices and that aphid numbers were negatively related to spider abundance. Spiders were the main active predators within the orchards when the first colony fundatrices were present, indicating their importance in the early control of aphid populations.

Keywords

Aphis pomiconservation biological controldiagnostic PCRDysaphis plantagineageneralist predatorgut content analysis
Type
Research Paper
Information
Bulletin of Entomological Research , Volume 103 , Issue 2 , April 2013 , pp. 148 - 154
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2012

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