Identification and manipulation of natural enemies of key arthropod pests in Oklahoma vineyards

Effective pest management in viticulture is important because wine production is an increasingly valuable industry in Oklahoma. Besides direct feeding damage, some pests are vectors for Pierce’s disease, an economically destructive pathogen of grapes. However, there are problems associated with current overreliance on pesticides including: potential for environmental contamination, development of resistant pest populations, and reduction of important natural enemy populations. IPM strategies include conservation of natural enemies via reduced chemical inputs and incorporation of plants between vine rows that serve as habitat and pollen/nectar sources for adults. This study has two primary objectives. First, we aim to identify the arthropod predator and parasitoid fauna in Oklahoma vineyards using sticky cards and vacuum sampling at three chemical management intensities ranging from organic to conventional production. Our second objective is to manipulate the diversity and abundance of natural enemies using native plants between rows. We compared parasitoid abundance and diversity in response to three treatments of between-row plantings: 1) native flowering perennials, including Monarda punctata, Asclepias tuberosa, and Coreopsis lanceolata; 2) native upright grass Pennisetum villosum; and 3) pre-existing bermudagrass as a control. We hypothesize that the conventionally managed vineyard will have the lowest diversity and abundance of natural enemies while the organic vineyard will have the highest. We also expect to see more natural enemies in the flowering plant treatment compared to the upright grass treatment and bermudagrass control.