The Influence of Mixed Green Covers, a New Trend in Organic Olive Growing, on the Efficiency of Predatory Insects

Ramón González-Ruiz (), José Alfonso Gómez-Guzmán, Minerva Martínez-Rojas, Antonio García-Fuentes, María del Pilar Cordovilla, María Sainz-Pérez, Antonio M. Sánchez-Solana, Juan Carlos-Hervás and Antonio Rodríguez-Lizana
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Ramón González-Ruiz: Department Animal Biology, Plant Biology and Ecology, University Institute of Research on Olive Groves and Olive Oils, Universidad de Jaén, 23071 Jaén, Spain
José Alfonso Gómez-Guzmán: Department Animal Biology, Plant Biology and Ecology, University Institute of Research on Olive Groves and Olive Oils, Universidad de Jaén, 23071 Jaén, Spain
Minerva Martínez-Rojas: Department Animal Biology, Plant Biology and Ecology, University Institute of Research on Olive Groves and Olive Oils, Universidad de Jaén, 23071 Jaén, Spain
Antonio García-Fuentes: Department Animal Biology, Plant Biology and Ecology, University Institute of Research on Olive Groves and Olive Oils, Universidad de Jaén, 23071 Jaén, Spain
María del Pilar Cordovilla: Department Animal Biology, Plant Biology and Ecology, University Institute of Research on Olive Groves and Olive Oils, Universidad de Jaén, 23071 Jaén, Spain
María Sainz-Pérez: Department Animal Biology, Plant Biology and Ecology, University Institute of Research on Olive Groves and Olive Oils, Universidad de Jaén, 23071 Jaén, Spain
Antonio M. Sánchez-Solana: IT Department: Area of Computer Languages and Systems, Universidad de Jaén, 23071 Jaén, Spain
Juan Carlos-Hervás: MONVA Limited Company, 28020 Mancha Real, Spain
Antonio Rodríguez-Lizana: Department of Aerospace Engineering and Fluid Mechanics, Area of Agroforestry Engineering, Universidad de Sevilla, 41013 Sevilla, Spain

Agriculture, 2023, vol. 13, issue 4, 1-19

Abstract: Intensive soil tillage and the resulting erosion constitutes one of the main problems in olive growing. Palliative practices such as implementing vegetable covers are encouraged. Recently, the method of adding inert green roofs to the soil, either alone or in combination with adventitious vegetation, has stood out. Assessing this agronomic measure is our main objective. This research was conducted in 2022 in the Jaén province (southern Spain), wherein olive groves with different managements were selected: (i) conventional, free from vegetation, (ii) ecologically managed olive grove containing a cover of adventitious vegetation (VC), and (iii) ecologically managed olive grove in which the remains of pruning are added to the adventitious cover (VC-MIX). Vegetation inventories and beneficial insect monitoring were performed using a combined device with chromatic and olfactory trapping. The olive moth ( Prays oleae ) and lacewing predators were selected as the indicator species. Both the beneficial insect diversity and relative plant abundance were higher in the VC-MIX, where the highest rates of predation by lacewings were found (88%). In turn, these parameters in the VC olive surpassed those of the conventional olive grove. The factors involved in the notable differences between the three management types are discussed.

Keywords: olive growing; biodiversity; herbaceous adventitious covers; mixed green cover; predators; parasitoids; Prays oleae; Chrysopidae (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q1 Q10 Q11 Q12 Q13 Q14 Q15 Q16 Q17 Q18 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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