Abstract
The influence of drip irrigation of 10 European asparagus cultivars on the occurrence of Crioceris duodecimpunctata (L.) and Crioceris asparagi (L.) was studied. We tested 5 German cultivars (‘Ravel’, ‘Rambo’, ‘Rally’, ‘Ramada’, ‘Rapsody’), 2 Spanish cv. (‘Cipres’ and ‘Plaverd’), 2 Dutch cv. (‘Backlim’ and ‘Grolim’) and French cv. ‘Orane’ in the field conditions. The field experiment was carried out in two consecutive years (2005-2006) at Kruszyn Krajeński near Bydgoszcz on a sandy soil. Adults and larvae of C. duodecimpunctata (twelvespotted asparagus beetles - T-SAB) and C. asparagi (common asparagus beetles - CAB) reached over 91% of all insects settled on asparagus summer stalks. The German cultivars ‘Rambo’ and ‘Rally’ were considerably settled by adults and larvae of T-SAB. The highest number of individuals (adults and larvae) of CAB on the Dutch cv. ‘Backlim’ were observed. However, German cv. ‘Rapsody’ were significantly less numerous (both CAB and T-SAB). Moreover Dutch cv. ‘Backlim’ was more occupied by adults and larvae of CAB in drip irrigation plots than all five tested German cultivars. Also adults and larvae of T-SAB as well as CAB often prefer drip irrigated asparagus summer stalks.