Arthropod-Plant Interactions (2013) 7, 21-32

Linton Winder, Colin J. Alexander, Chris Woolley, Joe N. Perry and John M. Holland (2013)
The spatial distribution of canopy-resident and ground-resident cereal aphids (Sitobion avenae and Metopolophium dirhodum) in winter wheat
Arthropod-Plant Interactions 7 (1), 21-32
Abstract: We investigated, within two cereal fields in Southern England, the within-canopy spatial distribution of the aphids Sitobion avenae and Metopolophium dirhodum in relation to crop yield and plant nitrogen. We extended the study to investigate the spatial distribution of aphids that fell to, or returned from, the ground in order to estimate availability of the within-canopy aphid population to ground-active predators. We revealed that crop canopy aphid spatial pattern was associated with nitrogen or yield. Differences were evident between species: S. avenae was generally negatively associated with yield or plant nitrogen, whilst M. dirhodum exhibited positive association. For both aphid species, we observed strong spatial pattern for aphids falling to the ground and conclude that this could, in part, mediate the effectiveness of ground-active predators as pest control agents.
(The abstract is excluded from the Creative Commons licence and has been copied with permission by the publisher.)
Full text of article
Database assignments for author(s): John M. Holland

Research topic(s) for pests/diseases/weeds:
environment - cropping system/rotation
damage/losses/economics

---

Pest and/or beneficial records:

Beneficial	Pest/Disease/Weed	Crop/Product	Country	Quarant.
	Sitobion avenae	Wheat (Triticum)	United Kingdom
	Metopolophium dirhodum	Wheat (Triticum)	United Kingdom