Impact of oilseed rape crop management systems on the spatial distribution of Brassicogethes aeneus (Fabricius 1775): Implications for integrated pest management

The pollen beetle is one of the most important oilseed rape pests wherever the crop is grown. If no control measures are applied, it can cause a greater than 50% reduction in yield. The over-use of insecticides (especially pyrethroids) to control the pollen beetle has led to the development of resistance. Thus, alternative control strategies are required. A field trial with three experimental fields with different contributions of turnip rape as a trap crop was established during the growth season of 2013–2014. A grid of GPS points was established on each field. Pollen beetle abundance was recorded at each GPS point by beating into trays, and damage was assessed by dissection of buds from terminal racemes. Data analysis was performed by two-way analysis of variance and the appearance of pollen beetle adults was processed in a geographic information system (GIS). Statistically significant differences were found in terms of the density of the pollen beetle population between trap crop plants and oilseed rape plants. Control thresholds on each oilseed rape field were not exceeded, whereas the density of the pollen beetle population on trap crop plants was greater by up to 40 fold, regardless of the contribution of trap crop plants. The data indicate that support systems should use sampling strategies that incorporate spatial information to model crop loss more accurately and that there may be the potential for spatially targeted applications of insecticides to optimize the influence of natural enemies in oilseed rape.