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The impact of low numbers of leatherjackets on grass yield
Author(s) -
BLACKSHAW R. P.
Publication year - 1984
Publication title -
grass and forage science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.716
H-Index - 56
eISSN - 1365-2494
pISSN - 0142-5242
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-2494.1984.tb01705.x
Subject(s) - yield (engineering) , grassland , dry matter , silage , zoology , agronomy , biology , materials science , metallurgy
Experiments were carried out on seven sites in Fermanagh to investigate the yield loss caused by leatherjackets in grassland. Populations on the sites ranged from 65,000 to 865,000 ha −1 and significant damage was recorded from all sites except the least populated. Greater yield increases were obtained by controlling leatherjackets in September when compared with control in March. Regression models were fitted and it was found that 125,000 leatherjackets ha −1 in March caused a yield loss of 50 kg herbage dry matter (DM) ha −1 by mid‐May. Based on these figures the average yield loss to leatherjackets in Northern Ireland, from 1965 to 1982, was 208 kg DM ha −1 . Controlling leatherjackets in September, rather than March, increased the potential avoidable yield loss by a factor of 2.72. The average yield loss at first silage cut is therefore 566 kg DM ha −1 . On average, 100,000 ha grassland in Northern Ireland may be suffering an annual loss of 1t herbage DM ha −1 .