Inhaltszusammenfassung

Entomopathogenic fungi (EPF) are important antagonists of soil-dwelling insect pests adapted to living in agricultural soils. Little is known about EPF in vineyards, where they could be effective against soil-borne pests such as grapevine phylloxera or larvae of the June beetle. However, the high frequency of fungicide applications might reduce the effectiveness of EPF in vineyard soils. We compared effects of organic and conventional management, fungicide applications and soil parameters on ...Entomopathogenic fungi (EPF) are important antagonists of soil-dwelling insect pests adapted to living in agricultural soils. Little is known about EPF in vineyards, where they could be effective against soil-borne pests such as grapevine phylloxera or larvae of the June beetle. However, the high frequency of fungicide applications might reduce the effectiveness of EPF in vineyard soils. We compared effects of organic and conventional management, fungicide applications and soil parameters on natural occurrence of EPF in vineyards. In 15 pairs of organic and conventional vineyards in Germany, soil was sampled and tested for EPF with a baiting method and subsequent genetic identification. A set of plant protection and soil parameters were measured per site. Three taxa could be verified with Metarhizium being the most abundant one. Presence of EPF in general and of Metarhizium spp. was enhanced by a high C:N-ratio. Differences between management systems were minor, with Metarhizium spp. being more abundant in conventional vineyards. We could not detect a negative effect of fungicides on the presence of EPF. Metarhizium spp. was more frequently detected with increasing copper content of vineyard soils. We conclude that EPF are able to persist even in intensively managed vineyard systems. Thus, it would be worthwhile to further explore their potential for the biological control of vineyard pests. » weiterlesen» einklappen

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