Articles
ASSESSMENT OF KELP EXTRACT BIOSTIMULANTS ON ARTHROPOD INCIDENCE AND DAMAGE IN A CERTIFIED ORGANIC APPLE ORCHARD
Article number
1001_14
Pages
139 – 145
Language
English
Abstract
Organic farmers commonly use natural biostimulants to supplement mineral nutrition in their crops.
These materials are a poorly-defined group of products that are not plant fertilizers, but which, when used in small quantities, may improve plant growth or function.
Two biostimulant materials extracted from the kelp Ascophyllum nodosum, StimplexTM and Seacrop16TM, were assessed against a non-treated control over two seasons (2009 and 2010) in a certified organic apple orchard planted in 2006 in South Burlington, Vermont.
The objective of this study was to assess non-target effects from application of Ascophyllum nodosum extracts (ANE) on incidence of arthropods and their damage on foliage and fruit in the study orchard.
ANE were applied at label rates seven times during each growing season to each of five replicates of the five apple cultivars Ginger Gold, Honeycrisp, Liberty, Macoun, and Zestar!. Treatments were applied in a completely randomized design to the same trees in both study years.
Data were analyzed with a two-way ANOVA with separate cultivar and ANE treatments, and Tukeys HSD was used to test mean separations between treatments.
In general, results showed no effect of ANE on arthropod incidence or damage on foliage or fruit, except that the incidence of apple maggot damage on fruit was reduced under low pest population conditions.
These materials are a poorly-defined group of products that are not plant fertilizers, but which, when used in small quantities, may improve plant growth or function.
Two biostimulant materials extracted from the kelp Ascophyllum nodosum, StimplexTM and Seacrop16TM, were assessed against a non-treated control over two seasons (2009 and 2010) in a certified organic apple orchard planted in 2006 in South Burlington, Vermont.
The objective of this study was to assess non-target effects from application of Ascophyllum nodosum extracts (ANE) on incidence of arthropods and their damage on foliage and fruit in the study orchard.
ANE were applied at label rates seven times during each growing season to each of five replicates of the five apple cultivars Ginger Gold, Honeycrisp, Liberty, Macoun, and Zestar!. Treatments were applied in a completely randomized design to the same trees in both study years.
Data were analyzed with a two-way ANOVA with separate cultivar and ANE treatments, and Tukeys HSD was used to test mean separations between treatments.
In general, results showed no effect of ANE on arthropod incidence or damage on foliage or fruit, except that the incidence of apple maggot damage on fruit was reduced under low pest population conditions.
Publication
Authors
T.L. Bradshaw, L.P. Berkett, M.C. Griffith, S.L. Kingsley-Richards, H.M. Darby, R.L. Parsons, R.E. Moran, M.E. Garcia
Keywords
Malus ×domestica, ‘Ginger Gold’, ‘Honeycrisp’, ‘Liberty’, ‘Macoun’, ‘Zestar!’, integrated pest management, Ascophyllum nodosum
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