On-farm harvest timing effects on alfalfa weevil across the Intermountain West region of the United States.

Alfalfa ( L.) is an economically important commodity in the Intermountain Western United States. A major concern for alfalfa producers in this region is the alfalfa weevil ( Gyllenhal).

Insecticide application timing effects on alfalfa insect communities.

Timing of insecticide application can impact efficacy, given variation in both weather and development of the crop and its insect pests. Both target and nontarget insects may vary in life stage and abundance at the time of application. In alfalfa Medicago sativa L.

Landscape Composition and Management History Affect Alfalfa Weevil but not its Parasitoid.

It is widely recognized that both local and landscape-scale factors can be important drivers of crop pests, natural enemies, and biocontrol services. However, recent syntheses have found that landscape effects are inconsistent across study systems, highlighting the need for system-specific research to guide management decisions. In particular, studies conducted in perennial crops and that examine landscape configuration, not just composition, are especially lacking.

Insect Visitors of Specialty Cut Flowers in High Tunnels.

Various strategies incorporate floral resources into agricultural landscapes to support beneficial insects. Specialty cut flower production offers a rarely explored approach to offer floral resources while yielding a marketable product for growers. We characterized insect visitation to six species of specialty cut flowers.

Seed Predation of Interseeded Cover Crops and Resulting Impacts on Ground Beetles.

Interseeding cover crops into standing grains can promote both agronomic and environmental benefits within agroecosystems. Producers must decide which cover crops are the best fit for their goals, and whether diverse cover crop mixtures provide benefits that are worth the increased seed cost. Broadcast seeding is an accessible strategy to try interseeding but can lead to patchy establishment; it is unknown how much seed loss is due to seed predators.

Correction: Commercial Crop Yields Reveal Strengths and Weaknesses for Organic Agriculture in the United States.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.

Commercial Crop Yields Reveal Strengths and Weaknesses for Organic Agriculture in the United States.

Land area devoted to organic agriculture has increased steadily over the last 20 years in the United States, and elsewhere around the world. A primary criticism of organic agriculture is lower yield compared to non-organic systems. Previous analyses documenting the yield deficiency in organic production have relied mostly on data generated under experimental conditions, but these studies do not necessarily reflect the full range of innovation or practical limitations that are part of commercial agriculture.

Microbial community profiling to investigate transmission of bacteria between life stages of the wood-boring beetle, Anoplophora glabripennis.

Many insects harbor specific bacteria in their digestive tract, and these gut microbiota often play important roles in digestion and nutrient provisioning. While it is common for a given insect species to harbor a representative gut microbial community as a population, how this community is acquired and maintained from generation to generation is not known for most xylophagous insects, except termites. In this study, we examined acquisition of gut microbiota by the wood-feeding beetle, Anoplophora glabripennis, by identifying and comparing microbial community members among different life stages of the insect and with microbes it encounters in the environment.