Investigation of the damage caused by spanish slug (Arion lusitanicus Mabille)

Relevance of the topic: The Spanish slug (Arion lusitanicus Mabille) is only one species of invasive animal native to the Spanish and Portuguese region of Lusitania. It was first detected in Lithuania in 2008 in Kaunas. The species is spreading rapidly, which creates unfavourable conditions for growing plants in gardens, parks and other areas. No similar studies have been performed in Lithuania. The study was conducted in the training garden of Vytautas Magnus University Botanical Garden to control their damage to buckwheat husk mulch. The aim of the research was to investigate the effectiveness of buckwheat husks as a natural plant waste in protecting garden plants from damage caused by Spanish slug. Methodology: At the study sites, plants were mulched with dry, loose, and clean buckwheat husks of a 5 cm layer. The damage caused by the Lusitanian slugs was recorded by measuring damage on plant leaves and converting the damage into the percentage expression. The phytofixation method was used. Damage was assessed on a five-point scale, where 0 point - plants undamaged, 1 point - damaged up to 15%, 2 points - damaged from 15 to 30%, 3 points - damaged from 30 to 50%, 4 points - damaged from 50 to 75 percent, 5 points - damaged (destroyed) from 75 to 100 percent of leaves of the plants studied. Results: The results of the study showed that the use of buckwheat husk partitions and mulching vegetables with them can control the damage of invasive slugs. Minor defects were found in vegetables mulched with buckwheat husks: damage from 1 to 2 points. In the control site, where the plants were not mulched with buckwheat husks, the damage was 3 points. Having assessed the damage done, it can be stated that the activity of Spanish slugs could also be affected by less favorable environmental conditions: sunny days, high ambient air temperature, limited rainfall and well-maitained environment, as there were no shady places [...]Agronomijos fakultetasVytauto Didžiojo universiteta