Thesis (MSc)--Stellenbosch University, 2002. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Food demands for the ever-increasing human population is increasing the
pressure on the agricultural sector to produce more food. In order to satisfy these
demands, farmers are turning to chemical biocides for the control of pest species to
produce greater crop yields. All pesticides must be toxic or poisonous to the target
species they intend to control. Unfortunately, most pesticides are toxic or poisonous
to non-target organisms as well, with detrimental effects on their health. Organic
farming was developed to enhance the overall health of the farm's natural soilmicrobe-
plant-animal biodiversity. No synthetic fertilisers and/or pesticides are used
when farming organically. Life in the soil consists of intricate food webs and
interactions between the soil dwelling invertebrates. The soil-organisms are divided
into three main groups, viz., Micro-organisms (e.g. protozoa, bacteria and fungi)
mesofauna (nematodes, Collembola and Acari) and macro-fauna (e.g. millipedes,
isopods, insects, molluscs and earthworms). The invertebrates are very susceptible to
chemical contamination by chemical biocides in natural and agro-ecosystems. The
soil invertebrate communities are responsible for the decomposition of organic
material in soil, thereby remineralising the soil. The decomposition processes start
with comminution of the large pieces of organic material by meso- and macro-fauna
and ends with the micro-fauna and microbial organisms that complete these processes
by returning the nutrients in an inorganic form to the soil. The aim of this study was
to investigate whether, and to what extent the soil organisms are influenced by
different management practices viz., organic management practices versus
conventional management practices. A vineyard on the farm Plaisir de Merle, in
Simondium, Western Cape was used for the present study. One half of a one hectare
vineyard was managed organically and the other half conventionally. Within each
vineyard block six different treatments were performed. Three of the treatments were
strictly organic and the other three were strictly conventional. Four replicates of each
management treatment were performed. The bait-lamina technique was used to assess
the feeding activity of the soil organisms exposed to the different management
treatments. In addition to the bait-lamina trials in the vineyard itself, bait-lamina tests
were performed in microcosm studies with soil from the organically and
conventionally managed vineyard blocks under controlled conditions. In order to assess the impact of the various pesticides that are used in the vineyards in the
conventional way, on the soil fauna, standard acute toxicity tests and behavioural tests
were performed on Eisenia fetida, the compost worm. The bait-lamina tests in the
vineyard revealed that the moisture content of the soil plays an important role in the
biological activity of soil fauna. The different management treatments did affect the
biological activity of the soil fauna, but seasonal changes also proved to be one of the
important factors governing biological processes in the soil. The acute toxicity tests
showed that the active ingredients (mancozeb, penconazole and trifloxystrobin) of
three of the pesticides that were tested in this study, had negatively affected E. fetida
at their recommended application concentrations. The remaining two pesticides'
active ingredients (glyphosate and N-acetyl salicylic acid) did not affect the
earthworms negatively at the recommended application concentrations. The
preference behavioural trials showed that E. fetida could detect and avoid
contaminated substrates at the LCso-concentrations of the different pesticides. All the
earthworms were influenced positively in the preference behaviour experiments.
Because of certain limitations of the bait-lamina technique, it was difficult to
formulate conclusions on what happens in the soil. A possible explanation for the
differences in feeding activity of soil fauna could be attributed to the migration of the
soil fauna to more habitable soil horizons during the dry summer conditions, when
most of the pesticides are applied. The ecological relevance of the acute toxicity tests
conducted need to be investigated further. It is clear that the acute toxicity tests
provided important information that should be considered, but care should be taken
and the necessary safety factors be determined and considered when doing risk
assessment studies. The results of the preference behaviour studies showed that for
certain pesticides E. fetida can be a sensitive bioindicator of acute and/or sub-acute
lethal toxicity testing but this might not necessarily be the case for other pesticides.
The goal of doing laboratory studies is to gain as much information to make reliable
extrapolations to field situations from laboratory data. Laboratory-to-field
extrapolations are very complicated because of the physico-chemical composition of
soil, the unpredictable way pesticides behave within soil and the reaction of soil
organisms to the soil and to the chemical biocides that are used. Further studies need
to be done in order to fully understand to what extent the soil fauna were affected by
the different management practices applied to the vineyard at Plaisir de Merle. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Voedsel aanvraag vir die toenemende menslike bevolking plaas groot druk op
die landbou sektor om meer kos te produseer. Om aan die voedsel eise te voldoen,
gebruik boere al meer chemiese biosiede om pesspesies te bestry. Alle pestisiede
moet toksies of giftig wees vir die teiken organisme waarvoor dit bestem is.
Ongelukkig is die meeste pestisiede ook toksies of giftig vir nie-teiken organismes,
wat tot nadelige effekte op hul gesonheid kan lei. Organiese boerdery is ontwikkel
om die algehele gesondheid van die plaas se natuurlike grond-mikrobe-plant-dier
biodiversiteit te bevorder. Geen sintetiese bemestingstowwe en/of pestisiede mag
gebruik word wanneer daar organies geboer word nie. Die lewe in die grond bestaan
uit ingewikkelde voedselwebbe en interaksies tussen die grondlewende invertebrate.
Die grond invertebrate word verdeel in drie hoof groepe, nl. mikro-organismes (bv.
Protozoa, bakterieë en fungi) meso fauna (Nematoda, Collembole en Acari) en
makrofauna (bv. Millipoda, Isopoda, Insecta, Mollusca en erdwurms). Die
Invertebrata is die mees vatbaarste vir chemiese kontaminasie deur chemiese
biosiedes in natuurlike en landbou ekosisteme. Die grond invertebraat gemeenskappe
is verantwoordelik vir die afbreek van alle organiese materiaal in die grond en dus vir
remineralisering van die grond. Die afbreekproses begin by die komminusie van
groter stukke organiese materiaal deur die meso- en makrofauna en eindig met die
mikrofauna en mikrobes wat die prosesse voltooi deur die nutriente terug te plaas in
die vorm van anorganiese produkte in die grond. Die doel van hierdie studie was om
te ondersoek of, en tot watter mate, grond organismes geraak word deur verskillende
grondbestuurspraktyke, nl. Organiese grondbestuurspraktyke teenoor die
konvensionele grondbestuurspraktyke. 'n Wingerd op die plaas Plaisir de Merle, in
Simondium, Wes-Kaap, was gebruik vir die huidige studie. Een helfte van 'n een
hektaar wingerd is organies bestuur en die ander helfte is op die konvensionele manier
bestuur. Op elk van die twee wingerd blokke is ses verskillende behandelings
toegepas. Drie van die behandelings was streng organies en die ander drie was streng
konvensioneel van aard. Vier replikate van elke behandeling is toegepas op elk van
die twee wingerdblokke. Die bait-lamina metode is gebruik om die
voedingsaktiwiteit van die grond organismes te asses seer. As toevoeging tot die bait-lamina proewe in die wingerd self, is bait-lamina toetse ook in mikro-kosmosse in die
laboratorium gedoen met grond afkomstig vanaf die twee wingerdblokke. Om die
impak van die verskillende pestisiede op die grondorganismes te ondersoek, is
standaard akute toksisteitstoestse en gedragstoetse uitgevoer met die komposerdwurm,
Eisenia fetida. Die bait-lamina resultate in die wingerd het getoon dat die
voginhoud van die grond die belangrikste rol speel wat die biologiese aktiwiteit van
die grondorganismes beïnvloed. Die verskillende behandelings het die biologiese
aktiwiteit van die grond fauna geaffekteer, maar seisoenale veranderings is ook
uitgesonder as een van die bepalende faktore wat die biologiese prosesse in die grond
stuur. Die akute toksisiteitstoetse het getoon dat die aktiewe bestandeie van drie van
die pestisiede (mancozeb, penconazole en trifloxystrobin), E. fetida negatief
beïnvloed het teen die aanbeveelde konsentrasies wat toegedien is. Die aktiewe
bestandeie van die ander twee pestiede (glyphosate en N-asetiel sallisiel suur) het nie
die erdwurms nadelig beïnvloed teen die aanbeveelde konsentrasies wat toegedien is
nie. Die gedragsproewe het getoon dat E. fetida die LCso-konsentrasies van al die
verskillende pestisiede kan waarneem en vermy. Al die erdwurms is positief
beïnvloed in die gedragseksperimente met die verskillende pestisiede. Omdat die
bait-laminametode sekere beperkings het, was dit moeilik om tot gevolgtrekkings te
kom oor wat presies in die grond gebeur. 'n Moontlike verklaring vir die verskillende
voedingsaktiwiteite van die grond fauna kan toegereken word aan die migrasie van
die grondorganismes na meer leefbare grondhorisonne gedurende die droë somer
toestande, wat toevallig met die spuit van die meeste pestisiede ooreenstem. Die
ekologiese relevansie van die akute toksisiteitstoetse wat uitgevoer is, moet meer
deeglik ondersoek word. Die belangrikheid van die akute toksisteitstoetse is duidelik
en het waardevolle informasie gelewer, maar sorg moet geneem word, en die nodige
veiligheids faktore moet bepaal word en in ag geneem word, wanneer
riskobepalingstudies gedoen word. Die gedragsproewe het getoon dat vir sekere
pestisiede E. fetida 'n sensitiewe bioindikator van akute en/of sub-akute letale
toksisiteits toetse kan wees, maar nie noodwendig vir ander pestisiede nie. Die doel
van laboratoriumstudies is om so veel as moontlik inligting te versamelom
vertroubare ekstrapolasie te kan maak na situasies in die veld vanaf laboratorium data.
Laboratorium-na-veld ekstrapolasies is dikwels baie gekompliseerd as gevolg van die
fisies-chemiese samestelling van die grond, die onvoorspelbare manier waarop chemiese pestisiede met die grond reageer en die reaksie van die grondorganismes op
chemiese biosiede in die grond. Verdere studies moet gedoen word om so deeglik
maanlik die mate van die impak wat die verskillende bestuurspraktyke op die grond
fauna het, te verstaan op Plaisir de Merle.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:sun/oai:scholar.sun.ac.za:10019.1/53129 |
| Date | 12 1900 |
| Creators | Albertus, Randal Marius Colin |
| Contributors | Reinecke, A. J., Reinecke, S. A., Raath, P. J., Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Science. Dept. of Botany and Zoology. |
| Publisher | Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Language | en_ZA |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
| Format | 103 p. : ill. |
| Rights | Stellenbosch University |
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