Environmental Entomology (1984) 13, 207-213

William O. Lamp, Robert J. Barney, Edward J. Armbrust and George Kapusta (1984)
Selective weed control in spring-planted alfalfa: Effect on leafhoppers and planthoppers (Homoptera: Auchenorrhyncha), with emphasis on potato leafhopper
Environmental Entomology 13 (1), 207-213
Abstract: Dry-weight yield, plant species composition, alfalfa stem density, and density of leaf hopper-planthopper species (Homoptera: Auchenorrhyncha) were determined in a study of the effect of selective weed control in alfalfa on Auchenorrhyncha species, especially the potato leafhopper (PLH), Empoasca fabae (Harris). Eight treatments consisting of combinations of a grass herbicide, a broadleaf herbicide, and an insecticide were replicated four times in 32 spring-planted alfalfa plots at Belleville, Ill. Most Auchenorrhyncha species were more abundant in grass-infested alfalfa than in broadleaf weed-infested or weedfree alfalfa. PLH were consistently less abundant (number per m²) and less concentrated (number per stem and number per g) on alfalfa in grass-infested plots than in the other treatments. However, PLH were usually more concentrated in broadleaf weed-infested plots. The implications of selective weed control for insect and weed pest management in alfalfa are discussed.
(The abstract is excluded from the Creative Commons licence and has been copied with permission by the publisher.)

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

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Pest and/or beneficial records:

Beneficial	Pest/Disease/Weed	Crop/Product	Country	Quarant.
	Empoasca fabae	Alfalfa/lucerne (Medicago sativa)	U.S.A. (mid N)