Do polyphagous predators help control orange wheat blossom midge, Sitodiplosis mosellana Géhin (Dipt., Cecidomyiidae) in winter wheat?

Abstract

Polyphagous predatory invertebrate populations were manipulated using exclusion techniques in order to examine their impact on Sitodiplosis mosellana Géhin. Experiments were conducted within the framework of the LINK Integrated Farming Systems Project in the UK, which allowed the effect of the predators to be compared between integrated and conventional farming systems. In 1995 and 1996, the exclusion technique indicated that polyphagous predators had little impact on S. mosellana numbers prior to oviposition, but may reduce the number of midge returning to the soil to diapause and thereby help to prevent populations building up in the soil. Sowing date affected ear infestation levels with earlier-drilled, conventionally farmed plots suffering heavier infestations. A strong correlation was found between the number of larvae per ear and the percentage of ears infested. At 100% infestation there was a mean of 2.8 S. mosellana larvae per ear.