| Seed predators for pest control in agriculture: identification of organisms and suggestions for methods to reduce herbicide usage
Summary:
Weeds is problematic for agriculture with decreasing yield as a consequence and to control weeds herbicide application is often used. This can increase the yield but have negative effects on the environment and human health. It is therefore important to find alternative methods for weed control. Weed seed predation is an ecosystem service that provide biological control of weeds. The purpose of this study is to investigate which specific species that perform weed seed predation, the difference in predation between organic and conventional farms and between landscapes with different amount of organic land. This will be investigated by experiments in the field on 24 farms (16 organic and 8 conventional) where the organic will be divided evenly in landscapes with low (<10%) and high (>50%) proportion of organic land. In the fields seed from three different weed species will be placed in petri dishes and pitfall traps and video recording will be used to find out the degree of weed seed predation and the identity of predators. The project will provide new information about which species that perform biological control on weeds in different farms and landscapes and if this knowledge can be used to decrease the application of herbicides.
Keywords: Ecosystem services; Herbicides; Organic farming; Pest control; Weed seed predation
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