Can season and intercropping Conilon coffee favor predatory ant species?

Abstract

Conilon coffee (Coffea canephora Pierre ex A. Froehner) is an important crop in Brazil, and this culture is widely grown in Espírito Santo State. Intercropping this species has been adopted for better use, profitability, and sustainability of the cultivated area. Intercropping provides higher shading and may favor edaphic fauna that plays an important ecological function in the soil. Ants are part of the edaphic meso - and macrofauna, considered ecosystem engineers and actively participate in pest predation. The goal of the study was to evaluate predatory ant richness in Conilon coffee in monoculture and intercropped with teak or Australian cedar. Furthermore, the influence of these crops on the richness of predator ant communities in the dry (winter) and rainy (summer) seasons was analyzed. The study was conducted in the municipality of Sooretama, northern Espírito Santo State (Brazil) using pitfall soil traps. Ant communities were analyzed with their distribution in trophic guilds. The richness of predatory ants (predatory and generalist omnivore predatory ant species) was studied in Conilon coffee in monoculture and intercropped with teak (Tectona grandis L.f.) and with Australian cedar (Toona ciliata M. Roemer), in the dry (winter) and wet (summer) seasons. A total of 49 ant species were collected, 29 predatory and 15 generalist omnivore predatory ant species were identified, and 16 ant species were recorded for the first time in Espírito Santo State. Conilon coffee cropping systems did not affect the richness of predatory or generalist omnivore predatory ant species, however, summer favored the occurrence of total predatory ants (generalist omnivore + predators); intercropping Conilon coffee did not favor predatory ants. The presence of predatory species is important for natural pest control, consequently improving crop sustainability. However, new research must be done to evaluate other Conilon coffee intercropping for a longer period.