Mortality of grass grub,Costelytra zealandica(White), and earthworms (Lumbricidae) during autumn cultivation
Open Access
- 1 May 1976
- journal article
- research article
- Published by Taylor & Francis in New Zealand Journal of Agricultural Research
- Vol. 19 (2) , 257-263
- https://doi.org/10.1080/00288233.1976.10426776
Abstract
At Mt. Somers, in the South Island of New Zealand, 92.5% of grass grub died during autumn cultivation, 78% resulting from mechanical injury and 14% from natural mortality. Gulls and starlings removed 260 000 grass grub per hectare, but this represented only 8% of the total mortality. Earthworms survived cultivation better than grass grub, but surface cultivation reduced their population by 74%. Grass grub are sufficiently susceptible to mechanical injury to make autumn cultivation a feasible means of reducing the pest in some areas.This publication has 5 references indexed in Scilit:
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