Assessment of the use of pheromone traps for catching click beetles in potato crops

Abstract

Damage to potato crops caused by feeding of click beetles larvae usually ranges from 5 to 25%. On unprotected and ecological plantations, more than 50% of damaged tubers are noted. The aim of the study was to determine the species composition of Elateridae beetles caught and the dynamics of their occurrence on potato plantations. The beetles were caught using pheromone traps. The differences in the dynamics of occurrence of adult beetles between two research locations were also determined. The research was carried out in 2010–2012 in two potato plantations located in Poland, i.e. in the West Pomeranian Voivodeship and in the Subcarpathian Voivodeship. All caught beetles were marked in total to four Elateridae species belonging to the genus Agriotes spp. The results obtained after analysing the variance indicate a significant diversity in the individual years of research in the numbers of only Agriotes lineatus. The highest numbers of individuals of this species were observed in 2010 (average 62.5) and 2011 (average 82.08). Agriotes obscurus appeared less frequently in the study. On average, the highest number of individuals of this species were observed in the second year of the study (49.5).