Sistemas de produccion de maiz y poblacion de macrofauna edafica | Systems of corn production and population of edaphic macrofauna
2004
Perez-Agis, E. | Vazquez-Garcia, M. | Gonzalez-Eguiarte, D. | Pimienta-Barrios, E. | Najera-Rincon, M.B. | Torres-Moran, P.
In this paper, the population of edaphic fauna associated with five production systems of corn is discussed: corn in monoculture and four production systems resulting from the combination of two winter crops used as green manure, after corn harvest: Avena sativa L. and Vicia sativa L., and two forms of usage: mulching (no-tillage) and incorporated (low tillage). When V. sativa was used as mulched green manure (no-tillage), the population of edaphic fauna was significantly greater and more diverse than in the rest of the systems. On the other hand, pest populations, such as melolonthids ("white grubs") also increase during the period of critical growth of corn, a situation that is interpreted as not desirable. However, to sustain the latter, insect feeding preference should be determined in the simultaneous presence of both plant mulch residues and living corn roots. Among the orders of insects and arachnids, coleopterans were the most important of the entire population and the most sensitive to the corn production systems. Three years after establishing the systems, winter planting of Vicia sativa or Avena sativa and later mulching (no-tillage) resulted in a significantly greater population of coleopterans (pests, predators and detritophagous). This result suggests that the population of coleopterans could be used as a faunistic indicator of system's stability. The results offer data which support the benefits of using green manure as mulch in winter to increase diversity and number of edaphic fauna throughout the entire year and can lead to better ecological stability.
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