The BEFmod experiment was established in 2014 on the VIP plots of site A and site B. In the last four rows of trees, five treatments (à 16 trees in 4 rows x 4 columns) were set up: control, no-weeding, insecticides, fungicides, phosphorous fertilization. Phosphorous was applied once in April 2014, Insecticides and fungicides were sprayed monthly (and in May and June of each year bi-weekly) from April 2014 on. Control and phosphorous plots were sprayed with an equal amount of water.

The herbivory assessments were conducted at the end of the main growing season in September to quantify standing levels of leaf damage. The degree of foliar damage by insects, defined as the combined removal of photosynthetic tissue by leaf-chewing, mining and galling (and, if visible, sucking) insects, was estimated using percentage classes of herbivore damage. On each tree, seven leaves on three randomly selected branches from different parts of the canopy (= 21 leaves per tree) were visually inspected. Herbivory was quantified as the overall leaf damage caused by chewing, mining, galling and (if visible) sucking insects per leaf. We used predefined percentage classes (estimated as 0%, <5%, <25%, <50%, <75%, >75%). Values provided here are the means of each category (i.e. 0%, 2.5%, 15%, 37.5%, 62.5%, 87.5%). As additional data, the total number of leaves was estimated and the main damage type was recorded.

Main Experiment

Fall 2014