Birds, pests, and beneficial arthropods in soybean following a fall-planted cereal rye cover crop

Dunn, Lucas Brodie

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https://hdl.handle.net/2142/115403 Copy

Description

Title

Birds, pests, and beneficial arthropods in soybean following a fall-planted cereal rye cover crop

Author(s)

Dunn, Lucas Brodie

Issue Date

2022-04-26

Director of Research (if dissertation) or Advisor (if thesis)

Seiter, Nicholas

Department of Study

Crop Sciences

Discipline

Crop Sciences

Degree Granting Institution

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Degree Name

M.S.

Degree Level

Thesis

Keyword(s)

• cover crops
• cereal rye
• beneficial arthropods
• insects
• agriculture
• birds
• pest insects
• soybean
• pest arthropods

Abstract

Cover crops are increasingly applied to United States agricultural acreage to mitigate erosion and nutrient loss. The agroecological impact of cover crop implementation is not fully understood and no study of cover crop impacts on pest and beneficial arthropods has yet been conducted in Illinois. In this thesis, the impact of a cereal rye cover crop on pest and beneficial arthropods in Illinois agricultural fields subsequently planted with soybeans was evaluated. The avian community of these fields was also evaluated. To capture a wide spectrum of the arthropod community, sampling was conducted weekly along a regular transect using pitfall traps, sweep nets, sticky cards, and shingle traps. The avian community was sampled using a weekly point count. Cover crop impacts on carabid beetles were minimal, as were impacts on foliar pests. Early season pests were found to be more abundant in fields with a cover crop compared to fields without a cover crop, as was crop damage. This damage lost significance when late-terminated fields were excluded from the analysis. The avian community in fields with a cover crop was found to be both of higher density and higher conservation value than fields without a cover crop. This research shows that planting a cereal rye cover crop in Illinois soybean fields entails relatively modest pest risks and may have additional agroecological impacts with conservation and economic implications.

Graduation Semester

2022-05

Type of Resource

Thesis

Copyright and License Information

Copyright 2022 Lucas Dunn

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