Can mustard seed meal increase the abundance of natural enemies of cabbage root fly in oilseed rape?

摘要

Larvae of cabbage root fly (Delia radicum) (Diptera: Anthomyiidae) are root-feeding maggots on vegetable Brassica and oilseed rape crops in Canada, and are pests of economic importance in both Europe (Finch, 1989) and North America (Soroka et al., 2002). Aleochara bilineata and A. bipustulata (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae) first-instar larvae are important pupal ectoparasitoids of cabbage root fly in Europe. Ahlstrom-Olsson & Jonasson (1992) and Jonasson (1994) reported that the application of mustard meal (Sinapis alba) as mulch to a Brassica vegetable crop significantly increases the number of A. bipustulata, has no effect on A. bilineata and provides crop protection comparable with insecticide treatments. Our objective was to evaluate the effectiveness of mustard meal in oilseed rape as an attractant to Aleochara spp. in field and laboratory experiments.