会议专题

MANAGING EXCESSIVE EARTHWORM CASTING ON GOLF COURSES AND SPORT FIELDS

  Excessive earthworm casting causes serious problems for turf managers trying to maintain quality playing surfaces.A few species of European origin,mainly Aporrectodea spp.and L.terrestris (Lumbricidae),cause most of casting problems in Great Britain and continental Europe,North America,New Zealand,and (probably) Australia,whereas Amynthas spp.(Megascolecidae) are important casting culprits in Korea,China,and Japan,and sporadically in the United States.Edaphic,climatic,and cultural factors affecting earthworm abundance and casting on particular sites are discussed,and historical approaches for reducing earthworm casts are reviewed.Cultural methods provide at best only partial control,and some; e.g.,soil acidification or prolonged clipping removal,can be detrimental to turf.Chemical pesticides for earthworm control have been restricted or banned.In the 1890s,British greenkeeper Peter Lees pioneered a method so effective that it was a mainstay for reducing earthworm casts on golf courses for > 50 years.It involved applying mowrah meal,made from seeds of the tree Bassia latifolia,followed by irrigation.Natural saponins in the mowrah meal irritated earthworms’ mucus membranes,expelling them to the surface where they then were physically removed.Tea seed meal,a saponin-rich by-product of tea oil manufacture,recently was shown to be similarly effective,and an organic fertilizer containing it is available in the United States.Targeted use of granular or liquid products with natural plant saponins has potential for reducing casting to tolerable levels while conserving the agronomic benefits provided by a moderate earthworm population.

Aporrectodea Camellia oleifera Lumbricidae Lumbricus Megascolecidae saponins

Daniel A. Potter Carl. T. Redmond David W. Williams

Dept. of Entomology,University of Kentucky,Lexington,KY 40546 USA Dept. of Plant and Soil Science,University ofKentucky,Lexington,KY 40546 USA

国际会议

The 12th International Turfgrass Research Conference(第十二届国际草坪学术大会)

北京

英文

347-355

2013-07-14(万方平台首次上网日期,不代表论文的发表时间)