In our country, the areas cultivated with oats have oscillated over time. After a pronounced decrease of these surfaces, in recent years there has been a slight increase in both the surface area and the yields achieved per unit area. The low attention paid by the farmers to the oat culture has made the research on the pests of this crop less numerous than the other cereals. Pest monitoring, the establishment of biological reserves and the potential for attack in cereal agroecosystems, in particular oats, are issues of interest in applied research on system optimization integrated control, suitable climate and current technology. In this context, we mention that Oulema melanopa, which is considered to be one of the major pests in this culture, is of interest for oat crops. The main purpose of this paper is to assess the current status of the Oulema melanopa populations and to determine the economic impact of this species in the Western part of Romania. The paper includes original results on the researches carried out on Oulema melanopa in oat crops in the area of Şag, Timiş County, bringing new explanations and clarifying some aspects less known. Oulema melanopa adults were collected using entomological net after the method of Ruesink & Haynes (1973). Data on larval abundance were made by direct observations on plants. The research regarding Oulema melanopa were made from the second decade of April and the first half of May to assess adult attack and early June to assess larvae attack. To determine the larval attack, we used the metric frame; the intensity of attack was noted, using 4 classes of intensity. The mean adult density of Oulema melanopa was 11 ± 5, 14 specimens/sample, while the larval density was 11.85 ± 5.88 specimens/sample. In the present study, the Oulema melanopa species presented the highest abundance in the larval stage. After the research carried out in western part of Romania, we can indicate that Oulema melanopa is a bioindicator of climate change in cereal ecosystems.

Oulema melanopa, attack, oat crops, climate changes, western Romania

biology

Presentation: oral