Pollination, Crop Productivity, And Arthropod And Bird Communities Are Marginally Impacted By Border Vegetation In Highbush Blueberry Production

Herbaceous flowering or woody plant borders adjacent to highbush blueberry (Vaccinium corymbosum) fields have the potential to benefit both native pollinators and species of predatory and parasitic arthropods and birds that feed on key highbush blueberry pests, such as spotted wing drosophila [SWD (Drosophila suzukii)]. However, they may also draw pollinators away from the crop, serve as overwintering and/or refugia sites for SWD, and increase the abundance of wild birds that feed on fruit and harbor foodborne pathogens. The objective of this 1-year, observational study was to explore the potential impacts of border vegetation adjacent to commercial highbush blueberry fields on pollination, crop productivity, and arthropod and bird communities within the Pacific Northwest region in the United States. The study included three highbush blueberry cultivars (Duke, Draper, and Liberty), and three field border vegetation treatments: 1) woody perennial vegetation; 2) herbaceous vegetation; and 3) medium-height grasses (control). There was one border treatment per cultivar for a total of nine sites. No cultivar effects nor interactions for any of the variables were detected, so results were combined across cultivars. No differences in pollinator abundance, pollinator visitation rates, estimated yield, berry weight, and seed number were observed across the treatments. Herbaceous borders had more natural enemies than the woody perennial borders, but both were similar to the control. This trend is attributed to higher abundances of parasitic wasps (suborder Apocrita) in the herbaceous and control borders compared with the woody perennial borders. Increased abundances of aphids (family Aphididae), a host for parasitic wasps, likely influenced these results. Differences in predatory arthropods were not observed. Insect abundances were overall low in all field sites measured in this study, likely influenced by SWD insecticide applications. There were no differences in total wild bird density by treatment except for barn swallows (Hirundo rustica), which were greatest in the control treatment. Overall, the border treatments evaluated in this study had small-to-negligible impacts on the measured variables, and there was no clear crop production benefit. Additionally, none of the investigated border treatments negatively impacted highbush blueberry production. Taken together, border vegetation treatments can provide benefits such as reducing pesticide drift, deterring trespassers, and serving as a windbreak; but any potential benefits from a pollination or biocontrol aspect are likely diminished due to current SWD management practices.