DEVELOPING A PERRENIAL LIVING MULCH SYSTEM FOR MANAGING PESTS AND AUGMENTING NATURAL BIOCONTROL IN MARYLAND CANTALOUPE SYSTEMS

This study investigated how alsike clover (Trifolium hybridum) and Virginia wildrye (Elymus virginicus), when interplanted as a living mulch with cantaloupe, (Cucumis melo var. cantalupensis) would impact herbivorous and beneficial arthropod numbers. An additional objective was to determine how these living mulches would impact fruit yield and quality. It was hypothesized that there would be a reduction of cantaloupe pest herbivores and increase in natural enemy abundances in the interplanting compared to monoculture cantaloupe system. Some arthropods conformed to these expectations. However, most had a neutral or inconsistent response to the living mulches. Striped cucumber beetles (Acalymma vitattum), a major pest, were unaffected by the living mulches on most sampling dates. During several periods in both study years, leaf piercing herbivores including aphids were found in greater numbers on cantaloupe interplanted with clover than wildrye and/or monoculture. Spiders were found in greater abundance in cantaloupe interplanted with clover than wildrye or monoculture plantings during several sampling periods. Other natural enemy guilds such as parasitic wasps and piercing predators were inconsistently influenced by living mulch types. Yield was highest in the monoculture plots and living mulch was correlated with changes in fruit texture and color