Effects of Production Practices on the Abundance of Quarantine Pests in Dracaena marginata in Costa Rican Production Fields

Abstract:

To mitigate risks of invasive pests, international nursery exporters may soon be expected to participate in clean stock programs that reduce the probability of shipping crops that contain pests of quarantine significance. We worked with Costa Rican producers of Dracaena marginata Lam. (Ruscaceae) to identify critical pests, as well as the field conditions and production practices that could be explored for lowering pest abundance in a clean stock program. We sampled the abundance of leafhopper and katydid eggs, armored scales, and snails on leaves using a 10- by 10-m grid in a total of 34 production plots located in two distinct growing regions during the rainy and dry seasons of 2006. Growers were surveyed to determine the production practices in each field. Populations of leafhoppers and snails increased during the rainy season, whereas armored scale populations reached higher densities in the dry …

Año de publicación:

2008

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Fuente:

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