Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-rdxmf Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-25T20:53:09.767Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

A comparison of the effects of minimum-till and conventional-till methods, with and without straw incorporation, on slugs, slug damage, earthworms and carabid beetles in autumn-sown cereals

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  19 September 2012

T. F. KENNEDY ,
J. CONNERY ,
T. FORTUNE ,
D. FORRISTAL  and
J. GRANT
T. F. KENNEDY*
Affiliation:
Teagasc, Oak Park Research Centre, Carlow, Ireland
J. CONNERY
Affiliation:
Teagasc, Oak Park Research Centre, Carlow, Ireland
T. FORTUNE
Affiliation:
Teagasc, Oak Park Research Centre, Carlow, Ireland
D. FORRISTAL
Affiliation:
Teagasc, Oak Park Research Centre, Carlow, Ireland
J. GRANT
Affiliation:
Teagasc, Food Research Centre, Ashtown, Dublin 15, Ireland
*
*To whom all correspondence should be addressed. Email: [email protected]
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Summary

The present study compared slug, earthworm and carabid beetle abundance and slug damage to plants in minimum tillage (MT) and conventional tillage (CT) autumn-sown cereals. Winter barley was sown by CT and MT for 3 years followed by winter wheat for 6 years on a light-textured soil (Trial 1). Each cultivation was split so that straw was incorporated into the soil during cultivation in one split while the other did not receive straw. A similar investigation with winter wheat, over the same period, was undertaken on a nearby heavy-textured soil (Trial 2). The effects of method of cultivation and soil incorporation of straw on slug abundance and damage, and on earthworm populations were measured. Additionally, at Trial 1, the effects of cultivation and straw treatments on carabid beetle occurrence were measured in years 5–9. Over the 9 years, the method of cultivation had a significant effect on slug numbers in each trial. Slugs were more numerous in MT than CT plots, significantly so in 3 of the 9 years in Trial 1 and in 5 years in Trial 2. In Trial 1, slug numbers were significantly greater on no-straw than straw plots in 3 years as well as for the 9 years combined. Slug numbers did not differ between straw and no-straw plots in Trial 2. Slug numbers varied significantly between years and were influenced by factors other than the method of cultivation and straw application. Slug damage to seed and seedlings was quite low in each year (1–2%). Slug damage to cereal leaves at GS 23 was widespread in both trials, and severe in some years. MT had more leaf damage than CT in 5 of the 9 years in each trial, significantly so in 3 years in Trial 1 and in 4 years in Trial 2. Straw did not affect leaf damage in either MT or CT. Slug damage was not related to, nor did it affect either ear density or grain yield. The dominant slug species was Deroceras reticulatum. Earthworm numbers were significantly greater in MT than CT, for combined years, in each trial. Annually, these differences were significant for 5 years in Trial 1 and 2 years in Trial 2. Straw plots had significantly more earthworms than no-straw, for combined years, in each trial. The latter differences were significant for 5 years in Trial 1 and 3 years in Trial 2. In MT, the positive effect of straw on earthworm numbers was significant in Trial 2 but not in Trial 1. In CT, the latter effect was significant in each trial. Lumbricus species were more numerous in MT than CT and in straw than no-straw treatments. The impact of cultivation on numbers of carabid beetles was species-specific. The large beetle, Pterostichus melanarius, was significantly more numerous in MT than CT in 2 of the 5 years and for the aggregate of 5 years. Small carabids (Bembidion species and Trechus quadristriatus) were significantly more abundant in CT than MT in 3 of the 5 years as well as for the aggregate of 5 years. Straw did not affect the number of any or all carabid species either for combined cultivations (MT + CT) or within either MT or CT. It is concluded that MT increases slug numbers, slug damage and earthworm numbers relative to CT cultivations. MT favours large carabid beetles and CT favours small beetles. Straw incorporation increases earthworm numbers but not slugs, slug damage or carabid beetles. Slug damage to cereal leaves does not affect ear density or grain yield in either MT or CT crops when sown to a depth of 40 mm and before 18 September.

Type
Crops and Soils Research Papers
Information
The Journal of Agricultural Science , Volume 151 , Issue 5 , October 2013 , pp. 605 - 629
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2012 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

Adis, J. (1979). Problems of interpreting arthropod sampling with pitfall traps. Zoologischer Anzeiger, Jena 202, 117–184.Google Scholar
Allmaras, R. R. & Dowdy, R. H. (1985). Conservation tillage systems and their adoption in the United States. Soil and Tillage Research 5, 197–222.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Andersen, A. (1999). Plant protection in spring cereal production with reduced tillage. II. Pests and beneficial insects. Crop Protection 18, 651–657.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Baguette, M. & Hance, Th. (1997). Carabid beetles and agricultural practices: influence of soil ploughing. Biological Agriculture and Horticulture 15, 185–190.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Balesdent, J., Chenu, C. & Balabane, M. (2000). Relationship of soil organic matter dynamics to physical protection and tillage. Soil Tillage Research 53, 215–230.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Barnes, B. T. & Ellis, F. B. (1979). Effects of different methods of cultivation and direct drilling, and disposal of straw residues, on populations of earthworms. Journal of Soil Science 30, 669–679.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Barratt, B. I. P., Byers, R. A. & Bierlein, D. L. (1994). Conservation tillage crop yields in relation to grey garden slug [Deroceras reticulatum (Muller)] (Mollusca: Agriolimacidae) density during establishment. Crop Protection 13, 49–52.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Basch, G. (2009). No-Tillage Worldwide. Presented at the ECAF General Assembly in Helsinki, March 2009. Available online at http://www.ecaf.org/docs/ecaf/no%20tillage%20worldwide.pdf (accessed 7 July 2009).Google Scholar
Bohan, D. A., Bohan, A. C., Glen, D. M., Symondson, W. O. C., Wiltshire, C. W. & Hughes, L. (2000). Spatial dynamics of predation by carabid beetles on slugs. Journal of Animal Ecology 69, 367–379.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bonari, E., Mazzoncini, M. & Peruzzi, A. (1995). Effects of conventional and minimum tillage on winter oilseed rape (Brassica napus L.) in a sandy soil. Soil and Tillage Research 33, 91–108.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bond, W., Davies, G. & Turner, R. (2007). The Biology and Non-chemical Control of Barren Brome (Anisantha sterilis (L.) Nevski). Coventry, UK:HDRA, the Organic Organisation. Available online at http://www.gardenorganic.org.uk/organicweeds/downloads/anisantha%20sterilis.pdf (accessed 7 July 2009).Google Scholar
Bostrom, U. (1995). Earthworm populations (Lumbricidae) in ploughed and undisturbed leys. Soil and Tillage Research 35, 125–133.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bouché, M. B. (1977). Stratégies Lombriciennes. Ecological Bulletin (Stockholm) 25, 122–132.Google Scholar
Cameron, R. A. D., Eversham, B. & Jackson, N. (1983). A field key to the slugs of the British Isle. Field Studies 5, 807–824.Google Scholar
Cannell, R. Q. (1985). Reduced tillage in North-West Europe – a review. Soil and Tillage Research 5, 129–177.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Chan, K. Y. (2001). An overview of some tillage impacts on earthworm population abundance and diversity – implications for functioning in soils. Soil and Tillage Research 57, 179–191.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Chan, K. Y. & Heenan, D. P. (2006). Earthworm population dynamics under conservation tillage systems in south-eastern Australia. Australian Journal of Soil Research 44, 425–431.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Choi, Y. H., Bohan, D. A., Powers, S. J., Wiltshire, C. W., Glen, D. M. & Semenov, M. A. (2004). Modelling Deroceras reticulatum (Gastropoda) population dynamics based on daily temperature and rainfall. Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment 103, 519–525.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Christian, D. G., Bacon, E. T. G., Brockie, D., Glen, D., Gutteridge, R. J. & Jenkyn, J. F. (1999). Interactions of straw disposal methods and direct drilling or cultivations on winter wheat (Triticum aestivum) grown on a clay soil. Journal of Agricultural Engineering Research 73, 297–309.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Conry, M. J. (1987). Soils of County Laois. Soil Survey Bulletin No. 41. Dublin: An Foras Talúntais.Google Scholar
Conry, M. J. & Ryan, P. (1967). Soils of County Carlow. Soil Survey Bulletin No. 17. Dublin: An Foras Taluntais.Google Scholar
Cuendet, G. (1983). Predation on earthworms by the black-headed gull (Larus ridibundus L.). In Earthworm Ecology. From Darwin to Vermiculture (Ed. Satchell, J. E.), pp. 414–424. London: Chapman and Hall.Google Scholar
Curry, J. P. (1976). Some effects of animal manures on earthworms in grassland. Pedobiologia 16, 425–438.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Curry, J. P., Byrne, D. & Schmidt, O. (2002). Intensive cultivation can drastically reduce earthworm populations in arable land. European Journal of Soil Biology 38, 127–130.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Davies, D. B. (1989). Objectives of reduced tillage and perspectives on application. In Energy Saving by Reduced Soil Tillage. Proceedings of a Workshop held in Gottingen, Germany, 10–11 June 1987 (Eds Baumer, K. & Ehlers, W.), pp. 1–6. Luxembourg: Commission of the European Communities.Google Scholar
Davies, D. B. & Finney, J. B. (2002). Reduced Cultivations for Cereals: Research, Development and Advisory Needs under Changing Economic Circumstances. Research Review No. 48. London: HGCA.Google Scholar
ECAF (2001). European Conservation Agriculture Organisation. http://www.ecaf.org (accessed 7 July 2009).Google Scholar
Edwards, C. A. (1975). Effects of direct drilling on the soil fauna. Outlook on Agriculture 8, 243–244.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Edwards, C. A. (1977). Investigations into the influence of agricultural practice on soil invertebrates. Annals of Applied Biology 87, 515–520.Google Scholar
Edwards, C. A. (1981). Earthworms, soil fertility and plant growth. In Proceedings of a Workshop on the Role of Earthworms in the Stabilization of Organic Residues, Kalamazoo, Michigan, 9–12 April 1980. Vol. 1 (Ed. Appelhof, M.), pp. 61–85. Kalamazoo, Michigan, USA: Beach Leaf Press.Google Scholar
Edwards, C. A. (1983). Earthworm ecology in cultivated soils. In Earthworm Ecology – from Darwin to Vermiculture (Ed. Satchell, J. E.), pp. 123–137. London: Chapman and Hall.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Edwards, C. A. & Lofty, J. R. (1978). The influence of arthropods and earthworms upon root growth of direct drilled cereals. Journal of Applied Ecology 15, 789–795.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Edwards, C. A. & Lofty, J. R. (1979). The effects of straw residues and their disposal on the soil fauna. In Straw Decay and its Effect on Disposal and Utilization. Proceedings of a Symposium on Straw Decay and Workshop on Assessment Techniques, Hatfield Polytehnic, 10–11 April 1979 (Ed. Gossbard, E.), pp. 37–44. Chichester, UK: John Wiley & Sons.Google Scholar
Edwards, C. A. & Lofty, J. R. (1980). Effects on earthworm inoculation upon the root growth of direct drilled cereals. Journal of Applied Ecology 17, 533–543.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Edwards, C. A. & Lofty, J. R. (1982). The effect of direct drilling and minimal cultivation on earthworm populations. Journal of Applied Ecology 19, 723–734.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Edwards, W. M., Shipitalo, M. J. & Norton, L. D. (1988). Contribution of macroporosity to infiltration into a continuous corn no-tilled watershed: implications for contaminant movement. Journal of Contaminant Hydrology 3, 193–205.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ehlers, W. (1975). Observations on earthworm channels and infiltration in tilled and untilled loess soil. Soil Science 119, 242–249.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
El Titi, A. & Ipach, U. (1989). Soil fauna in sustainable agriculture: results of an integrated farming system at Lautenbach, F.R.G. Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment 27, 561–572.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Emmerling, C. (2001). Response of earthworm communities to different types of soil tillage. Applied Soil Ecology 17, 91–96.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Farina, R., Seddaiu, G., Orsini, R., Steglich, E., Roggero, P. P. & Francaviglia, R. (2011). Soil carbon dynamics and crop productivity as influenced by climate change in a rainfed cereal system under contrasting tillage using EPIC. Soil and Tillage Research 112, 36–46.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Forristal, P. D. & Murphy, K. (2009). Can we reduce costs and increase profits with Min Till? In National Tillage Conference Proceedings 2009. pp. 48–67. Oak Park, Carlow, Ireland: Crops Research Centre, Teagasc. Available online at http://www.teagasc.ie/publications/view_publication.aspx?PublicationID=120 (accessed 9 April 2012).Google Scholar
Fortune, T., Kennedy, T., Mitchell, B., Dunne, B., Murphy, K., Connery, J. & Grace, J. (2005). Reduced cultivations – update fromOak Parkexperiments. In National Tillage Conference Proceedings, 2005. pp. 18–34. Oak Park, Carlow, Ireland: Crops Research Centre. Available online at http://www.teagasc.ie/publications/2005/20050126/TFortunefinalpaper19_1.pdf (accessed 9 April 2012).Google Scholar
Fraser, P. M. & Piercy, J. E. (1998). The effects of cereal straw management practices on lumbricid earthworm populations. Applied Soil Ecology 9, 369–373.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gerard, B. M. & Hay, R. K. M. (1979). The effect on earthworms of ploughing, tined cultivation, direct drilling and nitrogen in a barley monoculture system. Journal of Agricultural Science, Cambridge 93, 147–155.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Glen, D. M. (1989). Understanding and predicting slug problems in cereals. In Slugs and Snails in World Agriculture (Ed. Henderson, I.), pp. 253–262. BCPC Monograph No. 41. Thornton Heath, UK: BCPC.Google Scholar
Glen, D. M. (2000). The effects of cultural measures on cereal pests and their role in integrated pest management. Integrated Pest Management Reviews 5, 25–40.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Glen, D. M., Wiltshire, C. W. & Milsom, N. F. (1984). Slugs and straw disposal in winter wheat. In Proceedings of the 1984 British Crop Protection Conference – Pests and Diseases. Vol. 1, pp. 139–144. Croydon, Surrey, UK: BCPC.Google Scholar
Glen, D. M., Wiltshire, C. W. & Milsom, N. F. (1988). Effects of straw disposal on slug problems in cereals. Aspects of Applied Biology 17, 173–179.Google Scholar
Glen, D. M., Milsom, N. F. & Wiltshire, C. W. (1989). Effects of seed-bed conditions on slug numbers and damage to winter wheat in a clay soil. Annals of Applied Biology 115, 177–190.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Glen, D. M., Milsom, N. F. & Wiltshire, C. W. (1990). Effect of seed depth on slug damage to winter wheat. Annals of Applied Biology 117, 693–701.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Glen, D. M., Spaull, A. M., Mowat, D. J., Green, D. B. & Jackson, A. W. (1993). Crop monitoring to assess the risk of slug damage to winter wheat in the United Kingdom. Annals of Applied Biology 122, 161–172.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Glen, D. M., Wiltshire, C. W., Wilson, M. J., Kendall, D. A. & Symondson, W. O. C. (1994). Slugs in arable crops: key pests under CAP reform? Arable Farmers under CAP Reform: Aspects of Applied Biology 40, 199–206.Google Scholar
Glen, D. M., Wiltshire, C. W., Walker, A. J., Wilson, M. J. & Shewry, P. R. (1996). Slug problems and control strategies in relation to crop rotations. Rotations and Cropping Systems: Aspects of Applied Biology 47, 153–160.Google Scholar
Glen, D. M. & Symondson, W. O. C. (2003). Influence of soil tillage on slugs and their natural enemies. In Soil Tillage in Agroecosystems (Ed. El Titi, A.), pp. 207–227. Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press.Google Scholar
Gould, H. J. (1961). Observations on slug damage to winter wheat in East Anglia, 1957–1959. Plant Pathology 10, 142–146.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Godan, D. (1999). Molluscs. Their Significance for Science, Medicine, Commerce and Culture. Berlin: Parey Buchverlag.Google Scholar
Grant, J. F., Yeargan, K. V., Pass, B. C. & Parr, J. C. (1982). Invertebrate organisms associated with alfalfa seedling loss in complete-tillage and no-tillage plantings. Journal of Economic Entomology 75, 822–826.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Guild, W. J. McL. (1955). Earthworms and soil structure. In Soil Zoology (Ed. McE. Kevan, D. K.), pp. 83–98. London: Butterworths Scientific Publications.Google Scholar
Hammond, R. B. (1996). Conservation tillage and slugs in theU.S.corn belt. In Slug and Snail Pests in Agriculture. BCPC Symposium Proceedings No. 66 (Ed. Henderson, I.), pp. 31–38. Farnham, Surrey, UK: BCPC.Google Scholar
Hammond, R. B. & Stinner, B. R. (1987). Seedcorn maggots (Diptera: Anthomyiidae) and slugs in conservation tillage systems in Ohio. Journal of Economic Entomology 80, 680–684.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hammond, R. B., Beck, T., Smith, J. A., Amos, R., Barker, J., Moore, R., Siegrist, H., Slates, D. & Ward, B. (1999). Slugs in conservation tillage corn and soybeans in the eastern corn belt. Journal of Entomological Science 34, 467–478.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hance, T. (2002). Impact of cultivation and crop husbandry practices. In The Agroecology of Carabid Beetles (Ed. Holland, J. M.), pp. 231–250. Andover, UK: Intercept.Google Scholar
Hatten, T. D., Bosque–Perez, N. A., Labonte, J. R., Guy, S. O. & Eigenbrode, S. D. (2007). Effects of tillage on the activity density and biological diversity of carabid beetles in spring and winter crops. Environmental Entomology 36, 356–368.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Haukka, J. (1988). Effect of various cultivation methods on earthworm biomasses and communities on different soil types. Annales de Agriculturae Fenniae 27, 263–269.Google Scholar
Helenius, J. (1990). Effect of epigeal predators on infestation by the aphid Rhopalosiphum padi and on grain yield of oats in monocrops and mixed intercrops. Entomologia Experimentalis et Applicata 54, 225–236.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hobbs, P. R. (2007). Conservation agriculture: what is it and why is it important for future sustainable food production? Journal of Agricultural Science, Cambridge 145, 127–137.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Holland, J. M. (2004). The environmental consequences of adopting conservation tillage in Europe: reviewing the evidence. Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment 103, 1–25.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Holland, J. M. & Luff, M. L. (2000). The effects of agricultural practices on Carabidae in temperate agroecosystems. Integrated Pest Management Reviews 5, 109–129.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Holland, J. M. & Reynolds, C. J. M. (2003). The impact of soil cultivation on arthropod (Coleoptera and Araneae) emergence on arable land. Pedobiologia 47, 181–191.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
House, G. J. & All, N. J. (1981). Carabid beetles in soybean agroecosystems. Environmental Entomology 10, 194–196.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
House, G. J. & Parmelee, R. W. (1985). Comparison of soil arthropods and earthworms from conventional and no-tillage agroecosystems. Soil and Tillage Research 5, 351–360.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
House, G. J. & Stinner, B. R. (1983). Arthropods in no-tillage soybean agroecosystems: community composition and ecosystem interactions. Environmental Management 7, 23–28.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hunter, P. J. (1967). The effect of cultivations on slugs of arable land. Plant Pathology 16, 153–156.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hutcheon, A., Iles, D. R. & Kendall, D. A. (2001). Earthworm populations in conventional and integrated farming systems in the LIFE project (SW England) in 1990–2000. Annals of Applied Biology 139, 361–372.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Irmler, U. (2003). The spatial and temporal pattern of carabid beetles on arable fields in northern Germany (Schleswig-Holstein) and their value as ecological indicators. Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment 98, 141–151.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jordan, D., Stecker, J. A., Cacnio-Hubbard, V. N., Li, F., Gantzer, C. J. & Brown, J. R. (1997). Earthworm activity in no-tillage and conventional tillage systems in Missouri soils: a preliminary study. Soil Biology and Biochemistry 29, 489–491.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jordan, V. W. L., Leake, A. R. & Ogilvy, S. (2000). Agronomic and environmental implications of soil management practices in integrated farming systems. Farming Systems for the New Millennium: Aspects of Applied Biology 62, 61–66.[Google]Google Scholar
Kassam, A., Friedrich, T. & Derpsch, R. (2010). Conservation agriculture in the 21st century: a paradigm of sustainable agriculture. Paper presented at the European Congress on Conservation Agriculture Madrid, October 2010. Available online at http://www.taa.org.uk/assets/pubs/Paper5CA_Madrid_final[1].pdf (accessed 1 June 2011).Google Scholar
Kendall, D. A., Chinn, N. E., Glenn, D. M., Wiltshire, C. W., Winstone, L. & Tidboald, C. (1995). Effects of soil management on cereal pests and their natural enemies. In Ecology and Integrated Farming Systems (Eds Glenn, D. M., Greaves, M. P. & Anderson, H. M.), pp. 83–102. Chichester, UK: John Wiley & Sons Ltd.Google Scholar
Kennedy, T. F. (1994). The ecology of Bembidion obtusum (Ser.) (Coleoptera: Carabidae) in winter wheat fields in Ireland. Biology and Environment: Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy 94B, 33–40.Google Scholar
Kennedy, T. F. & Connery, J. (2001). Barley yellow dwarf virus in winter barley in Ireland: yield loss and timing of autumn aphicides in controlling the MAV-strain. Irish Journal of Agricultural and Food Research 40, 55–70.Google Scholar
Kennedy, T. F., McDonald, J. G., Connery, J. & Purvis, G. (2010). A comparison of the occurrence of aphids and barley yellow dwarf virus in minimum-till and conventional-till autumn-sown cereals. Journal of Agricultural Science, Cambridge 148, 407–419.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kennedy, T. F. & Connery, J. (2011). Control of barley yellow dwarf virus in minimum-till and conventional-till autumn-sown cereals by insecticide seed and foliar spray treatments. Journal of Agricultural Science, Cambridge 150, 249–262.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kladivko, E. J. (2001). Tillage systems and soil ecology. Soil and Tillage Research 61, 61–76.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kladivko, E. J., Akhouri, N. M. & Weesies, G. (1997). Earthworm populations and species distributions under no-till and conventional tillage in Indiana and Illinois. Soil Biology and Biochemistry 29, 613–615.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kreye, H. (2004). Effects of conservation tillage on harmful organisms and yield of oilseed rape. In Proceedings of the IOBC/WPRS Working Group ‘Integrated Control in Oilseed Crops’, Rothamsted, UK, 30–31 March, 2004. Bulletin OILB/SROP 27, 25–29.Google Scholar
Kromp, B. (1999). Carabid beetles in sustainable agriculture: a review on pest control efficacy, cultivation impacts and enhancement. Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment 74, 187–228.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lal, R. (2010). Soil and water conservation advances in the United States. Soil and Tillage Research 110, 258–259.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lintell Smith, G., Freckleton, R. P., Firbank, L. G. & Watkinson, A. R. (1999). The population dynamics of Anisantha sterilis in winter wheat: comparative demography and the role of management. Journal of Applied Ecology 36, 455–471.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lindroth, C. H. (1974). Handbooks for the Identification of British Insects: Coleoptera. Carabidae. IV (Part 2). London: Royal Entomological Society.Google Scholar
Luff, M. L. (1975). Some features influencing the efficiency of pitfall traps. Oecologia 19, 345–357.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Luff, M. L. (1987). Biology of polyphagous ground beetles in agriculture. Agricultural Zoology Reviews 2, 237–278.Google Scholar
Mannering, J. V. & Fenster, C. R. (1983). What is conservation tillage? Journal of Soil and Water Conservation 38, 140–143.Google Scholar
Martin, T. J. & Kelly, J. R. (1986). The effect of changing agriculture on slugs as pests of cereals. In Proceedings of the British Crop Protection Conference – Pests and Diseases, pp. 411–424. Farnham, Surrey, UK: BCPC.Google Scholar
Mele, P. M. & Carter, M. R. (1999). Impact of crop management factors in conservation tillage farming on earthworm density, age structure and species abundance in south-eastern Australia. Soil and Tillage Research 50, 1–10.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Menalled, F. D., Smith, R. G., Dauer, J. T. & Fox, T. B. (2007). Impact of agricultural management on carabid communities and weed seed predation. Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment 118, 49–54.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mishra, U., Ussiri, D. A. N. & Lal, R. (2010). Tillage effects on soil organic carbon storage and dynamics in corn belt of Ohio USA. Soil and Tillage Research 107, 88–96.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Moens, R. (1989). Factors affecting slug damage and control measure decisions. In Slugs and Snails in World Agriculture (Ed. Henderson, I.), pp. 227–236. BCPC Monograph No. 41. Thornton Heath, UK: BCPC.Google Scholar
Morris, N. L.; Miller, P. C. H.; Orson, J. H. & Froud-Williams, R. J. (2010). The adoption of non-inversion tillage systems in the United Kingdom and the agronomic impact on soil, crops and the environment – a review. Soil and Tillage Research 108, 1–15.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Peigné, J., Cannavaciuolo, M., Gautronneau, Y., Aveline, A., Giteau, J. L. & Cluzeau, D. (2009). Earthworm populations under different tillage systems in organic farming. Soil and Tillage Research 104, 207–214.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pelosi, C., Bertrand, M. & Roger-Estrade, J. (2009). Earthworm community in conventional, organic and direct seeding with living mulch cropping systems. Agronomy for Sustainable Development 29, 287–295.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Port, C. M. & Port, G. R. (1986). The biology and behaviour of slugs in relation to crop damage and control. Agricultural Zoology Reviews 1, 255–299.Google Scholar
Purvis, G. & Fadl, A. (1996). Emergence of Carabidae (Coleoptera) from pupation: a technique for studying the ‘productivity’ of carabid habitats. Annales Zoologici Fennici 33, 215–223.Google Scholar
Purvis, G. & Fadl, A. (2002). The influence of cropping rotations and soil cultivation practice on the population ecology of carabids (Coleoptera: Carabidae) in arable land. Pedobiologia 45, 452–474.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Quick, H. E. (1949). Slugs (Mollusca). (Testacellidae, Arionidae, Limacidae). Synopses of the British Fauna No. 8. London: Linnean Society of London.Google Scholar
Quick, H. E. (1960). British slugs (Pulmonata: Testacellidae, Arionidae, Limacidae). Bulletin of the British Museum of Natural History (Zoology Series) 6, 103–226.Google Scholar
Rasmussen, K. J. (1989). Experiments with reduced soil tillage in Denmark. In Proceedings of a Workshop on Energy Saving by Reduced Tillage held in Gottingen, Germany, 10–11 June 1987 (Eds Baumer, K. & Ehlers, W.), pp. 75–85. CEC Agriculture Report EUR 11258. Luxembourg: Office for Official Publications of the European Community.Google Scholar
Rogers-Lewis, D. S. (1977). Slug damage in potatoes and winter wheat on silt soils. Annals of Applied Biology 87, 532–535.Google Scholar
Rothwell, A., Chaney, K., Haydock, P., Cole, J. & Schmidt, O. (2005). The effects of conventional and conservation tillage systems on earthworm populations. In Proceedings of the BCPC International Congress – Crop Science & Technology 2005, pp. 483–486. Farnham, Surrey, UK: BCPC.Google Scholar
SAS (2004). User's Guide, Version 9.1. Cary, NC, USA: SAS Institute INC.Google Scholar
Sijtsma, C. H., Campbell, A. J., McLaughlin, N. B. & Carter, M. R. (1998). Comparative tillage costs for crop rotations utilizing minimum tillage on a farm scale. Soil and Tillage Research 49, 223–231.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Schmidt, O. & Curry, J. P. (2001). Population dynamics of earthworms (Lumbricidae) and their role in nitrogen turnover in wheat and wheat-clover cropping systems. Pedobiologia 45, 174–187.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Schmidt, O., Curry, J. P., Hackett, R. A., Purvis, G. & Clements, R. O. (2001). Earthworm communities in conventional wheat monocropping and low-input wheat-clover intercropping systems. Annals of Applied Biology 138, 377–388.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Schmidt, O., Clements, R. O. & Donaldson, G. (2003). Why do cereal-legume intercrops support large earthworm populations? Applied Soil Ecology 22, 181–190.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sims, R. W. & Gerard, B. M. (1999). Earthworms. Notes for the Identification of British Species. Synopsis of the British Fauna (New Series) No. 31 (Revised). Shrewsbury, UK: The Linnean Society of London and The Estuarine and Coastal Sciences Association by Field Studies Council.Google Scholar
Smith, B., Jordan, V., Kendall, D. & Glen, D. (1985). Straw disposal and its effects on pests, diseases and pesticide use. In Straw Soils and Science (Ed. Hardcastle, J.), pp. 20–21. London: Agriculture and Food Research Council.Google Scholar
Soil Survey Staff USDA (2010). Keys to Soil Taxonomy, 11th edn. Washington, DC: USDA.Google Scholar
South, A. (1992). Terrestrial Slugs: Biology, Ecology and Control. London: Chapman and Hall.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Stephenson, J. W. (1975). Laboratory observations on the distribution of Agriolimax reticulatus (Müll.) in different aggregate fractions of garden loam. Plant Pathology 24, 12–15.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sunderland, K. D. (1975). The diet of some predatory arthropods in cereal crops. Journal of Applied Ecology 12, 507–515.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sunderland, K. D., Crook, N. E., Stacey, D. L. & Fuller, B. J. (1987). A study of feeding by polyphagous predators on cereal aphids using ELISA and gut dissection. Journal of Applied Ecology 24, 907–933.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sunderland, K. D., De Snoo, G. R., Dinter, A., Hance, T., Helenius, J., Jepson, P. C., Kromp, B., Lys, J-A., Samu, F., Sotherton, N. W., Toft, S. & Ulber, B. (1995). Density estimation for invertebrate predators in agroecosystems. Acta Jutlandica 70, 133–164.Google Scholar
Symondson, W. O. C. (1993). The effect of crop development upon slug distribution and control by Abax parallelepipedus (Coleoptera: Carabidae). Annals of Applied Biology 123, 449–457.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Symondson, W. O. C., Glen, D. M., Wiltshire, C. W., Langdon, C. J. & Liddell, J. E. (1996). Effects of cultivation techniques and methods of straw disposal on predation by Pterostichus melanarius (Coleoptera: Carabidae) upon slugs (Gastropoda: Pulmonata) in an arable field. Journal of Applied Ecology 33, 741–753.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Thiele, H. U. (1977). Carabid Beetles in their Environments: a Study on Habitat Selection by Adaptations in Physiology and Behaviour. Zoophysiology and Ecology 10. Berlin: Springer-Verlag.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Thorbek, P. & Bilde, T. (2004). Reduced numbers of generalist arthropod predators after crop management. Journal of Applied Ecology 41, 526–538.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Torresen, K. S., Skuterud, R., Tandsaether, H. J. & Hagemo, M. B. (2003). Long-term experiments with reduced tillage in spring cereals. I. Effects on weed flora, weed seedbank and grain yield. Crop Protection 22, 185–200.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tottman, D. R.; Makepeace, R. J. & Broad, H. (1979). An explanation of the decimal code for the growth stages of cereals, with illustrations. Annals of Applied Biology 93, 221–234.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Umiker, K. J., Johnson-Maynard, J. L., Hatten, T. D., Eigenbrode, S. D. & Bosque-Perez, N. A. (2009). Soil carbon, nitrogen, pH, and earthworm density as influenced by cropping practices in the Inland Pacific Northwest. Soil and Tillage Research 105, 184–191.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Verch, G., Kachele, H., Holtl, K., Richter, C. & Fuchs, C. (2009). Comparing the profitability of tillage methods in Northeast Germany – a field trial from 2002 to 2005. Soil and Tillage Research 104, 16–21.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Voss, M. C., Ulber, B. & Hoppe, H. H. (1998). Impact of reduced and zero tillage on activity and abundance of slugs in winter oilseed rape. Zeitschrift fur Pflanzenkrankheiten und Pflanzenschutz-Journal of Plant Diseases and Protection 105, 632–640.Google Scholar
Willson, H. R. & Eisley, J. B. (1992). Effects of tillage and prior crop on the incidence of five key pests in Ohio corn. Journal of Economic Entomology 85, 853–859.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wischmeier, W. H. & Smith, D. D. (1978). Predicting Rainfall Erosion Losses: a Guide to Conservation Planning. USDA Agriculture Handbook No. 537. Washington, DC: USDA.Google Scholar
Witmer, J. E., Hough–Goldstein, J. A. & Pesek, J. D. (2003). Ground-dwelling and foliar arthropods in four cropping systems. Environmental Entomology 32, 366–376.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Woodruff, N. P. & Siddoway, F. H. (1965). A wind erosion equation. Soil Science Society of America Proceedings 29, 602–608.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wuest, S. B. (2001). Earthworm, infiltration, and tillage relationships in a dryland pea-wheat rotation. Applied Soil Ecology 18, 187–192.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Zadocks, J. C., Chang, T. T. & Konzak, C. F. (1974). A decimal code for the growth stages of cereals. Weed Research 14, 415–421.CrossRefGoogle Scholar