Effect of codling moth exclusion nets on the rosy apple aphid, Dysaphis plantaginea, and its control by natural enemies

Exclusion nets aimed at controlling populations of the codling moth, Cydia pomonella are increasingly used in French apple orchards. The secondary effects of these so-called Alt'Carpo nets on other apple pests have not yet been thoroughly determined. This study was carried out to evaluate whether the presence of white nets (mesh size: 3 × 7.4 mm) affects the population dynamics of the rosy apple aphid (RAA), Dysaphis plantaginea and the abundance and composition of associated arthropod communities. We surveyed 50 infested shoots on a weekly basis throughout spring in 2008 and 2009 on apple trees with or without (control) nets in one insecticide-free orchard located in south-eastern France. At three dates in 2009, the RAA infestation rate was also computed by counting the total number of infested shoots per tree. The nets were installed at three different dates during the RAA lifecycle: September (September Netting Plot (SNP)), March (March Netting Plot (MNP)) and mid-April (April Netting Plot (ANP)). The abundance of RAA in the uncovered plot in 2008 was 1.75-fold higher than in the ANP. In 2009, this abundance was 1.39-fold higher than in the ANP and MNP, and slightly lower than in the SNP (1.07-fold). The nets (MNP and SNP) decreased the number of RAA colonies present in early spring. Interestingly, the nets reduced the duration of RAA infestation by 7-10 days. The highest reduction in RAA abundance and infestation rate was observed when nets were closed during the RAA development phase (ANP). The nets significantly reduced the abundance of ants on the marked shoots, especially in the ANP compared to the control. In addition, this study showed that nets have a significant negative influence on the abundance and richness of RAA-natural enemies. There was a significant decrease in the abundance of predators but no effect on the abundance of parasitoids. Syrphidae, Forficulidae and Coccinellidae were the most abundant natural enemy groups in the uncovered plot. Netting the plots led to a pronounced decrease in Coccinellidae abundance, a slight but significant decreased in Syrphids and had no effect on earwigs. Overall, Alt'Carpo exclusion nets had a direct negative impact on RAA population dynamics especially in the presence of at least one active natural enemy per marked shoot. These promising findings suggest that the combination of physical and biological control methods has potential for regulating RAA populations in organic orchards.