Abstract
The agricultural ecosystem and its interaction with the outside environment plays a major role in the population of herbivores. The infestation of the Dubas bug, Ommatissus lybicus, has shown a spatial and temporal variation among different date palm plantations in Oman. This study focused on the relationship of infestation with date palm cultivation environments. The infestation and some selected environmental factors were evaluated in 20 locations for four consecutive infestation seasons over two years. Ordinary least squares (OLS) regression was used to identify the significant factors and the global relationship. Geographically weighted regression (GWR) was used to determine the spatial relationship. The results showed that GWR had better prediction than OLS. The model explained 61% of the infestation variation in the studied locations. The most significant coefficient was the tree planting pattern, the trees planted in uneven rows and columns (irregular pattern) had a positive effect; the infestation increased as the irregularity increased due to an increase in tree density. This reduced the interaction of harsh outside weather with the date palm plantation microclimate. The proportion of side growing area had a negative effect on insect population; as the percentage of side growing area increased as the infestation decreased, assuming the side growing crops hosted natural enemies. The study concluded that the variation of spatial and temporal infestation was primarily due to the variation of the cultural practices and spatial environment of the date palm plantations.
Subject
Plant Science,Agronomy and Crop Science,Food Science
Reference57 articles.
1. Life Cycle of Dubas Bug Ommatissus binotatus lybicus De berg. (Homoptera: Tropiduchidae) in Sultanate of Oman;Elwan;Egypt. J. Agric. Res.,1999
2. Temperature-dependent development of dubas bug, Ommatissus lybicus (Hemiptera: Tropiduchidae), an endemic pest of date palm, Phoenix dactylifera
3. Quantification of Honeydew Production Caused by Dubas Bug on Three Date Palm Cultivars;Shah;J. Entomol. Zool. Stud.,2016
4. Pests of Date Palm and Dates in the Sultanate of Oman;Kinawy,2005
Cited by
1 articles.
订阅此论文施引文献
订阅此论文施引文献,注册后可以免费订阅5篇论文的施引文献,订阅后可以查看论文全部施引文献