The Effect of Corn//Sugarcane on Rhopalosiphum maidis (Fitch), Ceratovacuna lanigera (Zehntne) and Their Main Natural Enemies

Purpose The aim of this study was to confirm the control effect of corn-sugarcane intercropping on the aphids' population in farming fields.Methods A field trap was carried out in corn-sugarcane intercropping fields and monocropping fields. Firstly, the composition and diversity of aphids and their main natural enemies were compared between different sampling sites and different cropping types. Secondly, stepwise regression analysis and canonical correlation analysis were used to analyze the correlations between the aphid and its main natural enemies.Results Corn-sugarcane intercropping played an obvious role in field aphids controlling. The population abundances and peak values of Rhopalosiphum maidis and Ceratovacuna lanigera in the intercropping fields were lower than monoculture fields. The diversity features of main aphid natural enemy changed with sampling sites and cropping types. And the differences between sampling sites were larger than the differences between cropping types. The correlation of aphids and its main natural enemies in corn-sugarcane intercropping was higher than monocropping.Conclusion Corn-sugarcane intercropping changed the structure of insect community in the field and improved the correlation between aphids and its main natural enemies. And the corn-sugarcane intercropping could be an effective pest management method in the farming fields to control R. maidis and C. lanigera in Yunnan.