Natural enemies and pollinators require additional cover, habitat resources, and minimal disturbance, which are not found in conventional agricultural fields. The purpose of this thesis was to quantify the effects of habitat management for conservation biological control and pollination in Michigan cucurbit fields and their impacts on the arthropod community and yield. In the first study, the effects of mulch and reduced tillage on the arthropod community in acorn squash were examined. Natural enemies of weed seeds and insects were expected to be more abundant in strip-tilled, mulched plots than full-tilled, unmulched plots. Foliar observations did not differ among treatments. Treatment effects on ground-dwelling arthropod activity density and weed seed survival were recorded, though they varied by year. Full-tilled plots tended to have higher granivore activity densities than strip-tilled plots. In the second study, the effects of floral intercropping on beneficial insects and yield in a commercial cucumber field were examined. Beneficial insect abundance was expected to greater in plots containing flowers, with more beneficials found in the rows closest to the floral strips. Some floral treatments successfully attracted more beneficial insects than others, but the beneficials did not disperse out to the cucumber plants. Cucumber yield was generally unaffected. Habitat management for beneficial insects still holds a great deal of potential to improve yield, profitability, and sustainability, but many questions as to their application in cucurbit agroecosystems remain.
Read
