New Zealand Journal of Crop and Horticultural Science abstracts
Agronomy and phenology of "companion plants" of potential
for enhancement of insect biological control
M. H. BOWIE
S. D. WRATTEN
A. J. WHITE
Department of Entomology and Animal Ecology
P. O. Box 84
Lincoln University
Canterbury, New Zealand
Abstract Many insects which are useful as biocontrol agents
feed on pollen and nectar as adults. Nectar and pollen sources (as "companion
plants") can be grown around or within crops to increase the density and
diversity of predators and parasites. Plants vary in their suitability for such
uses, however, and in this work, three cultivars of
Coriandrum, two of
Phacelia, and one each of
Anethum and
Fagopyrum were
compared with respect to their sowing-to-flowering times, and susceptibility to
low temperatures in Canterbury, New Zealand. There were large differences
between cultivars with respect to sowing-to-flowering times. The time to
flowering was the greatest with autumn sowings and
Anethum was the most
noticeably delayed.
Fagopyrum failed to flower from March to July
sowings, indicating a sensitivity to low temperatures or frosts; however, it
had the shortest sowing-to-flowering period of all plants tested. The
possibility of assessing other
Fagopyrum cultivars for their tolerance
to low temperatures and their ability to flower in early summer is discussed.
Keywords companion plants; Anethum; Coriandrum;
Fagopyrum; Phacelia; benefical insects; nectar; pollen
New Zealand Journal of Crop and Horticultural Science, 1995, Vol. 23:
423-427
0114-0671/95/2304-0423 $2.50/0 (c) The Royal Society of New Zealand
1995
PDF file of entire paper: medium quality (359K); (scanned from paper original: notes about this process)
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