Hostname: page-component-76fb5796d-dfsvx Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-04-27T03:50:36.541Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

PRELIMINARY STUDIES OF PEST CONSTRAINTS TO COTTON SEEDLINGS IN A DIRECT SEEDING MULCH-BASED SYSTEM IN CAMEROON

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 January 2009

T. BRÉVAULT ,
H. GUIBERT  and
K. NAUDIN
T. BRÉVAULT*
Affiliation:
CIRAD, UPR Annual cropping systems, Montpellier, F-34398France IRAD, Cotton program, Garoua, Cameroon
H. GUIBERT
Affiliation:
CIRAD, UPR Annual cropping systems, Montpellier, F-34398France CRA-CF, Cotonou, Benin
K. NAUDIN
Affiliation:
CIRAD, UPR Direct seeding and cover crops, Montpellier, F-34398, France
*
†Corresponding author: thierry.brevault@cirad.fr
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Summary

The present study evaluated the pest constraints of an innovative crop management system in Cameroon involving conservation tillage and direct seeding mulch-based strategies. We hypothesized that the presence of mulch (i) would support a higher density of phytophagous arthropods particularly millipedes as well as pathogenic fungi that cause severe damage to cotton seedlings and (ii) would reduce early aphid infestations. The impact of two cover-crop mulches Calopogonium mucunoides and Brachiaria ruziziensis on the vigour of seedling cotton stands and arthropod damage was assessed in two independent field experiments conducted in 2001 and 2002 respectively. In both experiments the presence of mulch negatively affected cotton seedling stand by 13–14% compared to non-mulched plots and the proportion of damaged seedlings was higher in mulched than in non-mulched plots supporting the hypothesis that mulch favoured soil pest damage. In both experiments insecticidal seed dressing increased the seedling stand and the number of dead millipedes collected and fungicide had little or no effect on seedling stand and vigour. It was however observed in 2002 that the fungicide seed dressing had a positive effect on seedling stand in non-mulched plots but not in mulched plots suggesting that fungi may have been naturally inhibited by B. ruziziensis mulch. The dynamics of aphid colonization was not influenced by the presence of mulch. In 2001 taller seedlings were found in mulched than non-mulched plots probably due to greater water and nutrient availability in C. mucunoides-mulched plots than in non-mulched plots.

Type
Research Article
Information
Experimental Agriculture , Volume 45 , Issue 1 , January 2009 , pp. 25 - 33
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2008

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.)

References

REFERENCES

Altieri, M. A. (1999). The ecological role of biodiversity in agroecosystems, Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment 74:19–31.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Blanchart, E., Villenave, C., Viallatoux, A., Barthès, B., Girardin, C., Azontonde, A. and Fellera, C. (2006). Long-term effect of a legume cover crop (Mucuna pruriens var. utilis) on the communities of soil macrofauna and nematofauna, under maize cultivation, in southern Benin. Applied Soil Ecology 42: 136–144.Google Scholar
Blanchart, E., Bernoux, M., Sarda, X., Siqueira Neto, M., Cerri, C. C., Piccolo, M., Douzet, J. M., Scopel, E. and Feller, C. (2007). Effect of direct seeding mulch-based systems on soil carbon storage and macrofauna in Central Brazil. Agriculturae Conspectus Scientificus 72: 81–87.Google Scholar
Brévault, T., Bikay, S., Maldes, J. M. and Naudin, K. (2007). Impact of no till with mulch on soil macrofauna communities in a cotton cropping system. Soil and Tillage Research 97:140–149.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Brown, G., Pasini, A., Benito, N. P., Aquino, A. M. and Correia, E. (2001). Diversity and functional role of soil macrofauna communities in Brazilian no-tillage agroecosytems. In Proceedings of the International Symposium on Managing Biodiversity in Agricultural Ecosystems, 8–10 November 2001, Montreal, Canada.Google Scholar
Costello, J. (1995). Spectral reflectance from a broccoli crop with vegetation or soil as background: influence on immigration by Brevicoryne brassicae and Myzus persicae. Entomologia Experimentalis et Applicata 75:109–118.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Deguine, J. P., Goze, E. and Leclant, F. (1994). Incidence of early outbreaks of the aphid Aphis gossypii Glover in cotton growing in Cameroon. International Journal of Pest Management. 40:132–140.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Doring, T. K. and Chittka, L. (2007). Visual ecology of aphids – a critical review on the role of colours in host finding. Arthropod-Plant Interactions 1:3–16.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Doupnik, B. and Boosalis, M. G. (1980). Ecofallow: A reduced tillage system, and plant diseases. Plant Disease 64:31–55.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Erenstein, O. (2003). Smallholder conservation farming in the tropics and sub-tropics: a guide to the development and dissemination of mulching with crop residues and cover crops. Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment 100: 17–37.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
House, G. J. and Del Rosario Alugaray, M. (1989). Influence of cover cropping no-tillage practices on community composition of soil arthropods in a North Carolina agroecosystem. Environmental Entomology 18:302–307.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ito, M., Matsumoto, T. and Quinones, M. A. (2006). Conservation tillage practice in sub-Saharan Africa: the experience of Sasakawa Global 2000. Crop Protection 26:417–423.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kladivko, E. J. (2001). Tillage systems and soil ecology. Soil and Tillage Research 61:61–76.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Marasas, M. E., Sarandon, S. J. and Cicchino, A. C. (2001). Changes in soil arthropod functional group in a wheat crop under conventional and no tillage systems in Argentina. Applied Soil Ecology 18:61–68.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Maria de Aquino, A., Ferreira da Silva, R., Mercante, F. M., Fernandes Correia, M. E., Fatima Guimaraes (de), M., and Lavelle, P., 2008. Invertebrate soil macrofauna under different ground cover plants in the no-till system in the Cerrado. European Journal of Soil Biology. 44:191–197CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mbetid-Bessane, E., Havard, M. and Djondang, K. (2006). Evolution des pratiques de gestion dans les exploitations agricoles familiales des savanes cotonnières d'Afrique centrale. Agricultures 15:555–561.Google Scholar
Naudin, K., Husson, O., Rollin, D., Guibert, H., Charpentier, H., Abou Abba, A., Njoya, A., Olina, J. P. and Seguy, L. (2003). No-tillage smallholder farms in semi-arid areas (Cameroon and Madagascar). In Proceedings of the IInd World Congress on Conservation Agriculture, 11–15 August 2003, Iguassu Falls, Parana, Brazil, vol. I, 46–49 (Extended Summary).Google Scholar
Peachey, R. E., Moldenke, A., William, R. D., Berry, R., Ingham, E. and Groth, E. (2002). Effect of cover crops and tillage system on symphylan (Symphyla: Scutigerella immaculata Newport) and Pergamasus quisquiliarum Canestrini (Acari: Mesostigmata) populations, and other soil organisms in agricultural soils. Applied Soil Ecology 21: 59– 70.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pullaro, T. C., Marino, P. C., Jackson, D. M., Harrison, H. F. and Keinath, A. P. (2004). Effects of killed cover crop mulch on weeds, weed seeds, and herbivores. Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment 115:97–104.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ratnadass, A., Michellon, R., Randriamanantsoa, R. and Séguy, L. (2006). Effects of soil and plant management on crop pests and diseases. In Biological Approaches to Sustainable Soil Systems, 589–602, Boca Raton, FL, USA: CRC Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rummel, D. R., Arnold, M. D., Slosser, J. E., Neece, K. C. and Pinchak, W. E. (1995). Cultural factors influencing the abundance of Aphis gossypii Glover in Texas high plains cotton. Southwest Entomologist 20:395–406.Google Scholar
Rypstra, A. L. and Marshall, S. D. (2005). Augmentation of soil detritus affects the spider community and herbivory in a soybean agroecosystem. Entomologia Experimentalis et Applicata 116:149–157.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
SAS Institute (1989). SAS/STAT User's guide, version 6. 4th ed., Vol. 2. SAS Institute Inc., Cary, NC, USA.Google Scholar
SODECOTON (2004). Rapport annuel. Société de Developpment du coton du cameroun Garoun, Cameroun.Google Scholar
Stinner, B. R. and House, G. J. (1990). Arthropods and invertebrates in conservation tillage agriculture. Annual Review of Entomology 35:299–318.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Summers, C. G., Stapleton, J. J. and Mitchell, J. P. (2004). Non-chemical insect and disease management in cucurbit production systems. Acta Horticulturae 638:119–125.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Teasdale, J. R., Abdul-Baki, A. A., Mills, D. J. and Thorpe, K. W. (2004). Enhanced pest management with cover crop mulches. Acta Horticulturae 638:135–140.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Thorbek, P. and Bilde, T. (2004). Reduced numbers of generalist arthropod predators after crop management. Journal of Applied Ecology 41:526–538.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tian, G., Brussaard, L. and Kang, B. T. (1993). Biological effects of plant residues with contrasting chemical composition under humid tropical conditions: effects on soil fauna. Soil Biology and Biochemistry 25:731–737.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tillman, G., Schomberg, H., Phatak, S., Mullinix, B., Lachnicht, S., Timper, P. and Olson, D. (2004). Influence of cover crops on insect pests and predators in conservation tillage cotton. Journal of Economic Entomology 97:1217– 1232.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Wilson-Rummenie, A. C., Radford, B. J., Robertson, L. N., Simpson, G. B. and Bell, K. L. (1999). Reduced tillage increases population density of soil macrofauna in a semi-arid environment in central Queensland. Environmental Entomology 28:163–172.CrossRefGoogle Scholar