Natural enemy abundance and movement within Oklahoma winter canola and winter wheat landscapes

Monday, November 11, 2013: 10:24 AM

Meeting Room 10 AB (Austin Convention Center)

Casi N. Jessie , Department of Entomology and Plant Pathology, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, OK

Kristopher Giles , Department of Entomology and Plant Pathology, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, OK

Brian McCornack , Department of Entomology, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS

Timothy J. Kring , Entomology, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, AR

James R. Hagler , USDA, Agricultural Research Service, Maricopa, AZ

William Jessie , Department of Entomology and Plant Pathology, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, OK

Xandra Robideau , Department of Entomology and Plant Pathology, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, OK

Nathan Bradford , Department of Entomology and Plant Pathology, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, OK

Scott A. Machtley , USDA Agricultural Research Service, Maricopa, AZ

Winter canola is a rapidly expanding first-generation biofuel crop in Oklahoma,

however the impact of this relatively new rotational crop has on ecosystem services

in winter wheat landscapes is unknown. An on-going USDA-AFRI grant (#2011-

67009-30141) titled "Impact of Bioenergy Crops on Pests, Natural Enemies and

Pollinators in Agricultural and Non-crop Landscapes" is focused on the risks and/

or benefits of planting large biofuel crop monocultures into established agricultural

landscapes. Investigators on this project are focused on documenting whether winter

canola functions as a source or sink habitat for pest species and their natural enemies.

Insect abundance and movement within landscapes are currently being monitored in

Oklahoma and Kansas using traditional sampling methods and novel protein markrecapture

methods with protein-specific ELISA's. Data collection has already shown

that natural enemies belonging to Coccinellidae (ladybeetles) and Chrysopidae (green

lacewings) occur in winter canola at very high numbers and that canola appears to

be functioning as an attractant for both of these predator groups.

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