A shift towards softer pest management differently benefits earwig and spider communities in a multiyear experiment in apple orchards.

BACKGROUND: Environmentally-friendly crop protection practices are needed to enhance the sustainability of current agricultural systems. This is crucial in orchards which are extensively treated to impair various pests, at the expense of natural enemies. However, the effect of a shift towards softer pest management on the beneficial arthropod community is poorly documented. Earwigs (Dermaptera: Forficulidae) and spiders (Araneae) are relevant groups to assess such effects because they are highly sensitive to agricultural practices. They were monitored for 6 and 4 years, respectively, in apple orchards under three pest management regimes: Organic, Low-input and Conventional, with pest management being switched during the survey from a broad-spectrum insecticide schedule to mating disruption in the latter one, and more selective compounds in all orchards. RESULTS: The survey displayed that earwig abundance (mainly Forficula auricularia) that was initially very low in the Conventional orchard (annual mean 0.5-1.7 earwigs per shelter in the 2010-2012 period) increased to the same level as that of Low-input and Organic orchards (over 10 earwigs per shelter) in the same year that changes in pest management occurred. The epigeal and arboreal spider communities were not responsive, and no recovering was observed 4 years after change in practices. CONCLUSION: Predatory arthropod communities are differently affected over time by changes in pest management, most probably due to their biology (dispersion, reproduction rate, susceptibility to pesticides etc.). This outlines the importance of documenting the time required to recover after perturbations and build a natural enemy community to enhance pest control in a win-win perspective. © 2024 Society of Chemical Industry.

Urinary incontinence 4 and 12 years after first delivery: risk factors associated with prevalence, incidence, remission, and persistence in a cohort of 236 women.

AIMS: Our aim was to study risk factors associated with prevalence, incidence, and remission of UI 4 and 12 years after first delivery. METHODS: Seven hundred seventy-four nulliparous women who gave birth in 1996 in two French maternity units at term received a questionnaire about their urinary symptoms in 2000 and again in 2008. Two hundred thirty-six women returned a questionnaire about UI 4 and 12 years after first delivery. Four groups of women were built: (A) women continent 4 and 12 years after first delivery; (B) women continent at 4 and incontinent at 12 years; (C) women incontinent at 4 and continent at 12 years; and (D) women incontinent at 4 and 12 years. Multivariate logistic regressions were used to determine risk factors of UI prevalence (groups B + D vs. A + C), incidence (B vs. A), remission (C vs. D), and onset of UI (D vs. B) RESULTS: Factors associated with UI 12 years after first pregnancy were: BMI (OR = 1.17 [95%CI: 1.04-1.32], by 1 kg/m(2) ) and increasing BMI (1.43 [1.19-1.73]), first child's weight (1.08 [1.001-1.16], by 100 g) and UI during first pregnancy (3.77 [1.83-7.76]). Factors associated with UI incidence were age at first delivery (0.86 [0.75-0.98]) and high BMI (1.24 [1.05-1.45]). Increasing BMI, UI during first pregnancy, and heavy first child reduce the likelihood of UI remission (0.37 [0.20-0.68], 0.11 [0.02-0.63], and 0.73[0.59-0.91], respectively). CONCLUSIONS: UI during first pregnancy could be indicative of individual susceptibility to UI. Obesity appears to be a modifiable factor for remission of UI in women.

Weak spatial and temporal population genetic structure in the rosy apple aphid, Dysaphis plantaginea, in French apple orchards.

We used eight microsatellite loci and a set of 20 aphid samples to investigate the spatial and temporal genetic structure of rosy apple aphid populations from 13 apple orchards situated in four different regions in France. Genetic variability was very similar between orchard populations and between winged populations collected before sexual reproduction in the fall and populations collected from colonies in the spring. A very small proportion of individuals (∼2%) had identical multilocus genotypes. Genetic differentiation between orchards was low (F(ST)<0.026), with significant differentiation observed only between orchards from different regions, but no isolation by distance was detected. These results are consistent with high levels of genetic mixing in holocyclic Dysaphis plantaginae populations (host alternation through migration and sexual reproduction). These findings concerning the adaptation of the rosy apple aphid have potential consequences for pest management.