Hostname: page-component-669899f699-2mbcq Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2025-04-25T06:49:54.490Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Influence of tillage and crop residue on postdispersal predation of weed seeds

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  12 June 2017

Heather E. Cromar ,
Stephen D. Murphy  and
Clarence J. Swanton
Heather E. Cromar
Affiliation:
Department of Plant Agriculture, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON, Canada N1G 2W1
Stephen D. Murphy
Affiliation:
Department of Environment and Resource Studies, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, ON, Canada N2L 3G1
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Extract

Field experiments were conducted from 1995 to 1997 in southern Ontario to determine the influence of tillage and ground cover on the quantity of postdispersal seed predation of common lambsquarters and barnyardgrass. Ground-dwelling invertebrates were the dominant seed predators and were responsible for 80 to 90% of all seeds consumed. Predation was highest in no-till and moldboard-plowed environments (averaging 32% in both) and lowest in chisel-plowed environments (averaging 24%). This indicates that the relationship between the level of disturbance and predation is nonlinear and that other factors, such as the mobility of invertebrates and food availability, may also play important roles in determining the quantity of seed predation. In no-till, the type of crop residue also influenced the quantity of predation, with highest seed predation found in plots with corn residue (averaging 31%) and lowest in those with soybean and wheat residue (24 and 21%, respectively). It is apparent that there is an optimum combination of residue quantity and quality that maximizes the quantity of seed predation. Based on the experimental design used in this study, no feeding preference by seed predators was detected between common lambsquarters and barnyardgrass. Density-dependent feeding, however, was evident for both species. Most biological control efforts have centered around predators with specific feeding habits. We contend that invertebrates with opportunistic feeding strategies that feed on weed seeds may be the most significant broad spectrum and natural form of biological weed control affecting weed population dynamics. Populations of beneficial arthropods should be conserved, and management strategies that augment the size of their natural populations should be encouraged.

Keywords

Barnyardgrass, Echinochloa crus-galli (L.) Beauv. ECHCGcommon lambsquarters, Chenopodium album L. CHEALcorn, Zea mays L. ‘Pioneer 3905’soybean, Glycine max L. ‘OAC Bayfield’winter wheat, Triticum aestivum L. ‘Harus.’Integrated weed management, weed population dynamics, Carabidae, invertebrates, small mammals, ECHCG, CHEAL
Type
Weed Biology and Ecology
Information
Weed Science , Volume 47 , Issue 2 , April 1999 , pp. 184 - 194
Copyright
Copyright © 1999 by the Weed Science Society of America 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Article purchase

Temporarily unavailable

References

Literature Cited

Abbott, H. G. and Quink, T. F. 1970. Ecology of eastern white pine seed caches made by small forest mammals. Ecology 51: 271–278.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Allen, R. T. 1979. The occurrence and importance of ground beetles in agricultural and surrounding habitats. Pages 485–505 in Erwin, T. L., Ball, G. E., and Whitehead, D. R., eds. Carabid Beetles Their Evolution, Natural History and Classification. London: The Hague.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Andersen, A. N. and Ashton, D. H. 1985. Rates of seed removal by ants at heath and woodland sites in southeastern Australia. Aust. J. Ecol. 10: 381–390.Google Scholar
Angelstam, P., Hansson, L., and Pehrsson, S. 1987. Distribution borders of field mice Apodemus: the importance of seed abundance and landscape composition. Oikos 50: 123–130.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Baars, M. A. 1979. Catches in pitfall traps in relation to mean densities of carabid beetles. Oecologia 41: 25–46.Google Scholar
Benoit, D. L. 1986. Methods of sampling seed banks in arable soils with special reference to Chenopodium spp. Ph.D. dissertation. University of Western Ontario, London, ON, Canada. 283 p.Google Scholar
Best, R. L. and Beegle, C. C. 1977. Food preferences of five species of carabids commonly found in Iowa cornfields. Environ. Entomol. 6: 9–13.Google Scholar
Bosnic, A. C. and Swanton, C. J. 1997. Influence of barnyardgrass (Echinochloa crus-galli) time of emergence and density on corn (Zea mays). Weed Sci. 45: 276–282.Google Scholar
Brust, G. E. 1994. Seed-predators reduce broadleaf weed growth and competitive ability. Agric. Ecosys. Environ. 48: 27–34.Google Scholar
Brust, G. E. and House, G. J. 1988. Weeds seed destruction by arthropods and rodents in low-input soybean agroecosystems. Am. J. Alt. Agric. 3: 19–25.Google Scholar
Cardina, J., Norquay, H. M., Stinner, B. R., and McCartney, D. A. 1996. Postdispersal predation of velvetleaf (Abutilon theophrasti) seeds. Weed Sci. 44: 534–539.Google Scholar
Crist, T. O., Guertin, D. S., Wiens, J. A., and Milne, B. T. 1992. Animal movement in heterogeneous landscapes: an experiment with Eleodes beetles in shortgrass prairie. Funct. Ecol. 6: 536–544.Google Scholar
Cromar, H. E. 1998. Postdispersal predation of common lambsquarters (Chenopodium album L.) and barnyardgrass (Echinochloa crus-galli L. Beauv.) seed. M.Sc. thesis, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON, Canada. 85 p.Google Scholar
Doyen, J. T. and Tschinkel, W. F. 1974. Population size, microgeographic distribution and habitat separation in some Tenebrionid beetles (Coleoptera). Ann. Entomol. Soc. Am. 67: 617–626.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dritschilo, W. and Winner, D. 1980. Ground beetle abundance in organic and conventional corn fields. Environ. Entomol. 9: 629–631.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dubrovskaya, N. A. 1970. Field carabid beetles (Coleoptera: Carabidae) of Byelorussia. Entomol, Rev. 49: 476–483.Google Scholar
Flowerdew, J. R. 1997. Mammal biodiversity in agricultural habitats. Proc. Brighton Crop Prot. Council. Biodiversity Conserv. Agric. 69: 25–40.Google Scholar
Hagley, E.A.C., Holliday, N. J., and Barber, D. R. 1982. Laboratory studies of the food preferences of some orchard carabids (Coleoptera: Carabidae). Can. Entomol. 114: 431–437.Google Scholar
Halsall, N. B. and Wratten, S. D. 1988. The efficiency of pitfall trapping for polyphagous predatory Carabidae. Ecol. Entom. 13: 293–299.Google Scholar
Harper, J. L. 1977. The effects of predators. Pages 385–497 in Harper, J. L., ed. Population Biology of Plants. New York: Academic Press.Google Scholar
Harper, J. L., Lovell, P. H., and Moore, K. G. 1970. The shapes and sizes of seeds. Ann. Rev. Ecol. Syst. 1: 327–356.Google Scholar
House, G. J. and All, J. N. 1981. Carabid beetles in soybean agroecosystems: community composition and ecosystem interactions. Environ. Manage. 7: 23–28.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Houssard, C. and Escarre, J. 1991. The effects of seed weight on growth and competitive ability of Rumex acetosella from two successional old-fields. Oecologia 86: 236–242.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hulme, P. E. 1993. Post-dispersal seed predation by small mammals. Symp. Zool. Soc. Lond. 65: 269–287.Google Scholar
Hulme, P. E. 1994. Post-dispersal seed predation in grassland: its magnitude and sources of variation. J. Ecol. 82: 645–652.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Inouye, R. S., Byers, G. S., and Brown, J. G. 1980. Effects of predation and competition on survivorship, fecundity, and community structure of desert annuals. Ecology 6: 1344–1351.Google Scholar
Janovicek, K. J., Vyn, T. J., and Voroney, R. P. 1997. No-till corn response to crop rotation and in-row residue placement. Agron. J. 89: 588–596.Google Scholar
Johnson, N. E. and Cameron, R. S. 1969. Phytophagous ground beetles. Ann. Entomol. Soc. Am. 62: 909–914.Google Scholar
Kirk, V. M. 1971. Ground beetles in cropland in South Dakota. Ann. Entomol. Soc. Am. 64: 238–241.Google Scholar
Kjellsson, G. 1985. Seed fate in a population of Carex pilulifera L. II. Seed predation and its consequences for dispersal and seed bank. Oecologia 67: 424–429.Google Scholar
Kromp, B. 1989. Carabid beetle communities (Carabidae, Coleoptera) in biologically and conventionally farmed agroecosystems. Agric. Ecosys. Environ. 27: 241–251.Google Scholar
Lindroth, R. L. 1989. Mammalian herbivore-plant interactions. Pages 163–206 in Abrahamson, W. G., ed. Plant—Animal Interactions. Toronto: McGraw-Hill Book.Google Scholar
Louda, S. M. 1989. Predation in the dynamics of seed regeneration. Pages 25–51 in Leck, M. A., Parker, V. T., and Simpson, R. L., eds. Ecology of Soil Seed Banks. Toronto: Academic Press.Google Scholar
Louda, S.M., Keeler, K. H., and Holt, R. D. 1990. Herbivore influences on plant performance and competitive interactions. Pages 413–444 in Grace, J. B. and Tilman, D., eds. Perspectives on Plant Competition. San Diego: Academic Press.Google Scholar
Luff, M. L. 1982. Population dynamics of Carabidae. Ann. Appl. Biol. 101: 164–170.Google Scholar
Lund, R. D. and Turpin, F. T. 1977. Carabid damage to weed seeds found in Indiana cornfields. Environ. Entomol. 6: 695–698.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Marino, P. C., Gross, K. L., and Landis, D. A. 1997. Weed seed loss due to predation in Michigan maize fields. Agric. Ecosys. Environ. 66: 189–196.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Maxwell, B. D. and Ghersa, C. 1992. The influence of weed seed dispersion versus the effect of competition on crop yield. Weed Technol. 6: 196–204.Google Scholar
Meredith, M. P. and Stehman, S. V. 1991. Repeated measures experiments in forestry: focus on analysis of response curves. Can. J. For. Res. 21: 957–965.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mittelbach, G. G. and Gross, K. L. 1984. Experimental studies of seed predation in old-fields. Oecologia 65: 7–13.Google Scholar
Montgomery, S.S.J. and Montgomery, W. I. 1990. Intrapopulation variation in the diet of the wood mouse Apodemus sylvaticus . J. Zool. 222: 641–651.Google Scholar
Moore, D.R.J. and Cavers, P. B. 1985. A comparison of seedling vigour in crop and weed biotypes of proso millet (Panicum miliaceum). Can. J. Bot. 63: 1659–1663.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Muller, J. K. and Kaschuba, A. 1986. Biological significance of the seasonal distribution of activity of Pterostichus oblongopunctatus (F). Pages 173–180 in Den Boer, P. J., Luff, M. L., Mossadowski, D., and Weber, F., eds. Carabid Beetles Their Adaptation and Dynamics. New York: Gustav Fischer.Google Scholar
Niemela, J., Spence, J. R., and Spence, D. H. 1992. Habitat associations and seasonal activity of ground-beetles (Coleoptera, Carabidae) in central Alberta. Can. Entomol. 124: 521–540.Google Scholar
Opoku, G. and Vyn, T. J. 1997. Wheat residue management options for no-till corn. Can. J. Plant Sci. 77: 207–213.Google Scholar
Reader, R. J. 1991. Control of seedling emergence by ground cover: a potential mechanism involving seed predation. Can. J. Bot. 69: 2084–2087.Google Scholar
Reichman, O. J. 1979. Desert granivore foraging and its impact on seed densities and distributions. Ecology 60: 1085–1092.Google Scholar
Root, R. B. 1973. Organization of plant-arthropod association in simple and diverse habitats: the fauna of collards (Brassica oleracea). Ecol. Monogr. 43: 95–118.Google Scholar
[SAS] Statistical Analysis Systems. 1990. SAS User's Manual. Version 6.06. Cary, NC: Statistical Analysis Systems Institute.Google Scholar
Shelton, M. D. and Edwards, C. R. 1983. Effects of weeds on the diversity and abundance of insects in soybeans. Environ. Entomol. 12: 296–298.Google Scholar
Spence, J. R. and Niemela, J. K. 1994. Sampling carabid assemblages with pitfall traps: the madness and the method. Can. Entomol. 126: 881–894.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Stone, J. A., Vyn, T. J., Martin, H. D., and Groenevelt, P. H. 1989. Ridge-tillage and early-season soil moisture and temperature on poorly drained soil. Can. J. Soil Sci. 69: 181–186.Google Scholar
Thiele, H. U., ed. 1977. Distribution of carabids and environmental structure. Pages 214–218 in Carabid Beetles in Their Environments: A Study on Habitat Selection by Adaptions in Physiology and Behaviour. New York: Springer-Verlag.Google Scholar
Thomas, D. B. and Sleeper, E. L. 1977. The use of pit-fall traps for estimating the abundance of arthropods, with special reference to the Tenebionidae (Coleoptera). Ann. Entomol. Soc. Am. 70: 242–248.Google Scholar
Verkaar, H. J., Schenkeveld, A. J., and Huurnink, C. L. 1986. The fate of Scabiosa columbaria (Dipsacaceae) seeds in a chalk grassland. Oikos 46: 159–162.Google Scholar
Vyn, T. J. and Raimbault, B. A. 1993. Long-term effect of five tillage systems on corn response and soil structure. Agron. J. 85: 1074–1079.Google Scholar
Warburton, D. B. and Klimstra, W. D. 1984. Wildlife use of no-till and conventionally tilled corn fields. J. Soil Water Conserv. 39: 327–330.Google Scholar
Whicker, A. D. and Tracy, C. R. 1987. Tenebrionid beetles in the shortgrass prairie: daily and seasonal patterns of activity and temperature. Ecol. Entomol. 12: 97–108.Google Scholar
Wulff, R. D. 1986. Seed variation in Desmodium paniculatum II. Effects on seedling growth and physiological performance. J. Ecol. 74: 99–114.Google Scholar