Impact of integrated farming husbandry practices on cereal pests and yield.

Abstract

The effect of later drilling and lower nitrogen inputs on cereal pests was examined at one site within the LINK Integrated Farming System Project. In some later drilled plots cereal aphids became more prolific on winter wheat because this remained at a susceptible growth stage longer into the summer. Whether this effected yield depended on the time of the aphid infestation relative to the crops growth stage. Lower nitrogen inputs may have helped reduce aphid numbers. Later drilled crops were in some years less prone to orange wheat blossom midge (Sitodiplosis mosellana). Delaying drilling to the end of October compared to early October reduced yields by approximately 0.7 t ha^-1.