Recovery Rates Of Biotic Potential Of Agrarian Ecosystems With The Reduction Of Pesticide Load
Abstract
A. M. Sumarokov, A. V. Zhukov
The research paper estimated the reaction of Herpetobiont adult beetles (Coleoptera) on the reducing of the pesticide load in the agro-ecosystems of the steppe zone of Ukraine. We choose the crops of Triticum vulgare Host., Hordeum sativum L., Pisum sativum L., Zea mays L., Helianthus annus L. and Medicago sativa L., being part of field rotation as test cultures. The main long-term constant observations were conducted on Sinelnikovо Selection and Experimental Station of the Institute of Grain Farming, National Academy of Agrarian Sciences (Ukraine), located in the Dnipropetrovsk region. Based on the comparative characteristics of two study periods, namely: 1st - the period of intensive use of pesticides (1983-1989) and 2nd - period of substantial (by 10-12 times) reduce of pesticide press in Ukraine (1999-2005) we succeed to show that during second period in the fields of agrosystems cultures there was significant increase in number of species of beetles, particularly zoophagous, and their abundance. The studies proved the ability of natural populations of predatory beetles to effectively control the population of harmful insect fauna in agricultural ecosystems at economically safe level without the use of pesticides.
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