Development of a Sampling Program for Estimation of Pupal Densities of Green Cloverworm (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) in Soybeans and Evaluation of Alternative Sampling Procedures 1
- 1 February 1983
- journal article
- research article
- Published by Oxford University Press (OUP) in Environmental Entomology
- Vol. 12 (1) , 96-100
- https://doi.org/10.1093/ee/12.1.96
Abstract
Intensive surveys of pupal green cloverworms (GCW), Plathypena scabra (F.), were conducted in six soybean fields during 1979 and 1980 to develop a sampling program suitable for life table research. Nested analyses of variance (NANOVA) demonstrated that differences within soil-surface sample sites and among plant canopy samples accounted for >95% of the total variation observed in pupal densities. NANOVA also indicated that simple random sampling plans are satisfactory for pupal surveys. Calculation of an optimal sample unit size showed that an area 60 by 50 cm, centered over the soybean row, represented the best compromise between sampling cost and precision. Sequential count plans, based on Taylor's power law, were calculated for estimating pupal densities with three predetermined precision levels. Evaluation of fixed-time and single-date pupal sampling techniques suggested that the former method is a potential time-saving alternative to intensive survey procedures and that the latter method is too imprecise for GCW pupal life table studies.This publication has 1 reference indexed in Scilit:
- Optimum Sample Size and Comments on Some Published FormulaeBulletin of the Entomological Society of America, 1976