| Abstract: | We assessed the non-target effects of a habitat management system (‘push–pull’) on maize stemborer specialist natural enemy activity and soil Collembola. Two study sites in western Kenya were sampled. There were two treatments at each site, maize monocrop and ‘push–pull’. The latter comprised an intercrop of maize and Desmodium, Desmodium uncinatum Jacq., with Napier grass, Pennisetum purpureum (Schumach), as a trap crop planted around the edge of the plot (spaced 1 m from main crop). Trichogramma spp. were recovered from stemborer eggs while Cotesia sesamiae and Cotesia flavipes were recovered from stemborer larvae, and Dentichasmias busseolae from pupae. Mean number of eggs parasitized was significantly higher in the maize monocrop than in the ‘push–pull’ plots however proportions parasitized did not differ between the two systems. The number of larvae and pupae parasitized and dead from causes other than parasitism similarly did not differ between cropping systems. Proportions of larvae and pupae parasitized were significantly higher in the ‘push–pull’ than in the monocrop plots, indicating that the activity of larval and pupal parasitoids was enhanced. C. sesamiae female wasps were attracted to the volatiles from Desmodium flowers but not those from the leaves in a four-arm olfactometer bioassay. A total of 1530 individual Collembola in seven families were recovered from the plots. The ‘push-pull’ strategy did not have any significant effect on Collembola abundance and dominance. The factors underlying these observations and their implications are discussed. |
