Intercropping sunflower in organic vegetables to augment bird predators of arthropods

Field experiments were used to test whether intercropping sunflower (Helianthus annuus) in organic vegetables would (1) attract insect-eating birds and encourage them to (2) forage in greater numbers and (3) for more time in cropped fields. Cropped areas with sunflower treatments of one or two rows per 0.4 ha exhibited significantly greater mean abundance of insectivorous birds than did control plots, across a variety of crop types. Additionally, both mean numbers of individual birds foraging on insect prey and mean insect-foraging time per hour in crops were significantly greater in plots with sunflower rows than without. Birds actively pursuing prey in study plots consumed economically important pest species and did not damage crops during the study. The addition of sunflower intercrops proved to be an effective habitat modification for augmenting avian insectivore numbers and insect-foraging time in organic vegetables.