Studies on palatability of some commom weed species, herbaceous plants and oilseed rape to D. reticulatum, A. lusitanicus and A. rufus slugs have been carried out under laboratory conditions. In food choice trials the rate and degree of damage to seedlings and leaf disks were determined for 20 plant species. The conducted experiments have also permitted to establish, which plant species were preferred or were not accepted by particular slug species. It was found that the studied slug species preferred seedlings and leaves of Brassica napus and Papaver rhoeas, but showed no preference for Epilobium hirsutum, Geranium sanguineum and Saponaria officinalis plants. As to the remaining plant species under study, the preferences exhibited by particular slug species were quite diverse.
Vegetables in addition to arable crops and ornamentals are also at high risk from slug and snail attack at all growth stages. The no-choice tests were conducted under laboratory conditions to assess the harmfulness of the slug Arion rufus (Linnaeus) and the snail Cepaea hortensis (Müller) to young vegetable plants. Ten species representing leaf and root vegetables, allium, brassica, cucurbit and edible pulse plants were chosen to compare their susceptibilities to feeding of these pests (agrotechnical classification – Polish National List of Varieties of Agricultural and Vegetable Plants 2005). The evaluation of the growth of the tested vegetables included a percentage of the damaged plant area and changes in aboveground plant mass. The trend toward increase of mass was defined by the means of regression analysis. Losses of aboveground plant mass resulting from pest feeding and plant growth restraint caused by the slug or the snail damage were assessed. Variance analysis of the general linear model and orthogonal contrasts were calculated to compare the vegetable groups included in the research. The highest losses of aboveground plant mass, by both pest species A. rufus and C. hortensis, were on common bean plants and the smallest on plants of leaf vegetables (lettuce, dill), brassica plants (cauliflower, white cabbage) and allium plants (garden onion).