A research highlights the beneficial role of birds on cider apple trees.
LA SIDRA.- A recent study from the University of Oviedo and Serida published in the Agriculture Ecosystems and Environment magazine concludes with the important service that birds provide in the orchads plague control in the central area of Asturias.
The insectivore birds abundance and richness has been studied through field experiments, direct observation and bird census for a whole year.
About 30 different insectivore bird species with arboricultural habit have been detected, from tiny wrens, which clean the finest twigs from aphids and weevils, to woodpeckers, which kill the trunk insects and apple worm pupae.
The most common species, like robins and great tits, are able to reduce the apple orchad plagues up to 80%, which has a positive impact on the cider apple production in the central area of Asturias.
