Graduate Student Florida International University Miami, Florida
Weedy vegetation is often seen as negative and is frequently removed by society. Our study looked at the ecological interactions in a mango farm when weeds were not removed around 30 mango trees compared to mechanically removed around another 30 trees. The plant-insect interactions on the different weed species as well as on the mango trees, Mangifera indica, with and without weeds were recorded and compared between treatments. We found that weed presence significantly increased pollinators and parasitoids on mango trees, as well as a gain of 1210 USD from added fruit yield in the weed treatment. There were significantly more important mango orders of Diptera, Hymenoptera, Coleoptera, and Lepidoptera on the weedy mango trees. Additionally, there were significantly more beneficial insect families Apidae, Calliphoridae, Chalcididae, Lycaenidae, Muscidae, Syrphidae, and Vespidae on the weedy trees. There was no significant difference in herbivores or predators on the mango trees between treatments. The implications of this research are manyfold; reduction of herbicidal applications in our food production, increased floral, nesting, and host plant resources for beneficial insects, birds, and other farmland organisms, and increased pollinator health, diversity, and services to increase fruit yield of many crops. Additionally, there is conservation benefits in expanding native plant and insect populations, as well as considerable economic gain in increasing production of fruit by supporting wild pollinator health.
