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Project Leader: Daniel Peck, Dept. Entomology,
NYSAES, Geneva, NY
Cooperators:
Nancy Consolie, Paul Robbins, Shirley Lewis,
Katie Straight (Dept. Entomology, NYSAES, Cornell Univ., Geneva, NY);Leslie
Allee (Dept. Entomology, Cornell Univ., Ithaca, NY);Dianne Black (Freeville,
NY)
Type of grant: Pheromones; biorationals; microbials; conventional
pesticides
Project location: Application: throughout the Northeast.
Research site: Crittenden Farm, NYSAES, Geneva, NY.
Abstract:
We are conducting a five-year study to assess
the effects of control tactics on non-target microarthropod communities.
Our focus is on white grub control in home lawns, which represents the
major pest complex in one of the most extensive and expanding components
of our urban and rural landscape. Although microarthropods are attributed
a large role in certain soil processes such as decomposition, our understanding
of this major component of soil fauna is quite limited. In order to
gauge the benevolence of pesticides used in lawn care, we are conducting
field trials to test their effects on the abundance, diversity and function
of non-target arthropods, particularly those that are “out-of-sight,
out-of-mind” without the aid of a microscope. Do these common
lawn care products have an effect on non-target fauna (such as mites
and springtails) and is this relevant to soil processes (such as decomposition)?
Turf stands developed at NYSAES, Geneva, NY were treated with three
standard chemical insecticides, a biological control agent, and a plant
nutrient in 2000, 2001, 2002 and 2003. Here we present an initial analysis
of certain data obtained over 2001 and 2002. A several year study of
this issue is important because effects on non-target soil fauna may
be cumulative. In the future, this work will allow for more informed
choices about pest management decisions in turfgrass ecosystems by lawn
care professionals as well as homeowners.
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