The Distribution of Slugs in a Potato Crop

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Abstract
A method of detecting slugs below ground, using recoverable potato baits, is described. In 2 seasons, Arion hortensis and Milax budapestensis were shown to be significantly more numerous 6 and 9 in. deep in the furrows than in the ridges in a potato crop, prior to tuber ripening. The differences 15 in. deep were not significant. The structure of the subterranean slug population was shown to agree with the known facts of the life cycles of the slugs in south-east England. No slugs were seen on the soil surface after the germination of the plants but evidence of underground activity throughout the growing season was obtained. A combination of meterological factors which result in the preferential wetting of the soil in the furrows is thought to explain the spatial distribution of the slugs in the crop. It is suggested that their distribution underground during the growing season accounts for the poor control obtained when molluscicides are applied to the soil surface.

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