Biological control of pests in protected cultivation: implementation in Latin America and successes in Europe

The area with greenhouse crops is estimated to be around 40,000 hectares in Latin America, of which approximately 60% is occupied with ornamentals. Several pests are responsible for losses in yield or quality of greenhouse crops production and pest control is still mainly by chemicals. However, there are several stimuli for the adoption of biological control strategies as an IPM component, not only for the export market of products, but also for increased use of sustainable plant protection methods as a result of the increased success of this methodology in European countries. In Latin America use of native natural enemies plays an important role in pest control and the procedure for development and implementation for biological control in protected cultivation should, therefore, not be based only on the importation and release of commercialized exotic natural enemies. Biological control can be developed making use of effective native natural enemies, or of those introduced a long time ago, and might be supplemented with exotic natural enemies for those pests where native biological control agents are ineffective. In Brazil, the reason for use of native agents is mainly due to concern about environmental risks of imported natural enemies and also because native or naturalized natural enemies are well adapted to local environmental conditions. In many countries, including Brazil, Colombia, Chile, Ecuador, Peru and Mexico, IPM and biological control programs are commercially used or are implemented in pilot greenhouses. Several successes of biological control programs used in Europe will be illustrated

Natural Enemies of Alfalfa Weevil, \u3ci\u3eHypera Postica\u3c/i\u3e (Coleoptera: Curculionidae), in Minnesota

Alfalfa weevil, Hypera postica, is present throughout Minnesota. How- ever, economically damaging populations seldom occur, due to a combination of natural enemies and adverse climatic conditions. Five natural enemies of alfalfa weevil were found in Minnesota. Microctonus aethiopoides (Hymenoptera: Braconidae), a parasitoid of adults, was recovered from 43 of 65 counties surveyed during 1984 and 1985. Tetrastichus incertus (Hymenoptera: Eulophidae) and Bathyplectes curculionis (Hymenoptera: Ichneumonidae), para­sitoids of larvae, were each recovered from 13 of 15 counties surveyed during 1991-1993. Bathyplectes anurus, another parasitoid of larvae, was recovered from one county In 1991, four counties in 1992, and six counties in 1993. Zoophthora phytonomi (Entomophthora: Entomophthoraceae), a pathogen of larvae, was recovered from 14 of 15 counties surveyed in 1991-1993. Winters with low minimum temperatures and little snow cover were detrimental to the weevil. Usually, southeastern Minnesota has milder winters and higher alfalfa weevil populations than other areas of the State. However, even here, because of natural enemies, weevil populations seldom reach economically damaging levels

Effect of management spontaneous cover crop on rosy apple aphid, green apple aphid and their natural enemies in an apple organic orchard

Cover crops have been reported as shelters for pest but also for natural enemies. Nevertheless, there is not agreement about their influence on pest presence on apple trees. An experiment was conducted in 2004-2006 in an IRTA-Estació Experimental de Lleida organic apple orchard located in Les Borges Blanques (Lleida, Spain) in order to evaluate the influence of cover crops on the presence of pest and natural enemies on apple trees. Three cover crops were tested and compared to a bare soil: (1) spontaneous cover crop where Plantago lanceolata L. was the most abundant specie, (2) no-mowed spontaneous cover crop, (3) spontaneous cover crop mowed when weeds were 30 cm tall. Cover crops tested affected neither the presence the rosy apple aphid nor aphid natural enemies. Nevertheless, the green apple aphid was more abundant in bare soil trees than in cover crop trees

The state of commercial augmentative biological control: plenty of natural enemies, but a frustrating lack of uptake

Augmentative biological control concerns the periodical release of natural enemies. In com- mercial augmentative biological control, natural enemies are mass-reared in biofactories for release in large numbers to obtain an immediate control of pests. The history of commercial mass production of natural enemies spans a period of roughly 120 years. It has been a successful, environmentally and eco- nomically sound alternative for chemical pest control in crops like fruit orchards, maize, cotton, sugar cane, soybean, vineyards and greenhouses. Currently, aug- mentative biological control is in a critical phase, even though during the past decades it has moved from a cottage industry to professional production. Many efficient species of natural enemies have been discovered and 230 are commercially available today. The industry developed quality control guidelines, mass production, shipment and release methods as well as adequate guidance for farmers. However, augmentative biological control is applied on a frustratingly small acreage. Trends in research and application are reviewed, causes explaining the limited uptake are discussed and ways to increase application of augmentative biological control are explored

The effect of within-crop habitat manipulations on the conservation biological control of aphids in field-grown lettuce

Within-crop habitat manipulations have the potential to increase the biological control of pests in horticultural field crops. Wildflower strips have been shown to increase the abundance of natural enemies, but there is little evidence to date of an impact on pest populations. The aim of this study was to determine whether withincrop wildflower strips can increase the natural regulation of pests in horticultural field crops. Aphid numbers in plots of lettuce grown adjacent to wildflower strips were compared with those in plots grown in the absence of wildflowers. The presence of wildflower strips led to a decrease in aphid numbers on adjacent lettuce plants during June and July, but had less impact in August and September. The decrease in aphid numbers was greatest close to the wildflower strips and, the decrease in aphid numbers declined with increasing distance from the wildflower strips, with little effect at a distance of ten metres. The main natural enemies found in the crop were those that dispersed aerially, which is consistent with data from previous studies on cereal crops. Analysis and interpretation of natural enemy numbers was difficult due to low recovery of natural enemies, and the numbers appeared to follow changes in aphid abundance rather than being directly linked to the presence of wildflower strips. Cutting the wildflower strips, to remove floral resources, had no impact on the reduction in aphid numbers achieved during June and July, but decreased the effect of the wildflower strips during August and September. The results suggest that wildflower strips can lead to increased natural regulation of pest aphids in outdoor lettuce crops, but more research is required to determine how this is mediated by natural enemies and how the impact of wildflower strips on natural pest regulation changes during the growing season

Sprinkler Irrigation as a Management Practice for \u3ci\u3eBemisia Tabaci\u3c/i\u3e (Homoptera: Aleyrodidae) in Cotton Fields

Field experiments were conducted in 1999 and 2000 to investigate the effect of irrigation method on populations of Bemisia tabaci (Gennadius) and natural enemies in cotton fields in Aydın Province, Turkey. Two irrigation methods, sprinkler and border, were studied each year. All plots were irrigated during different phenological periods including initial bloom, boll initiation, 50% boll filling and 5-10% boll opening stages. Irrigation methods and periods significantly affected whitefly populations. Densities of B. tabaci were significantly reduced in sprinkler-irrigated plots compared to border-irrigated plots in 2000 but not in 1999. Irrigation methods did not affect the population of natural enemies. However, significant differences in numbers of natural enemies were observed among irrigation periods. Natural enemies were most abundant during the second irrigation period when whiteflies were also most abundant. These results suggest that sprinkler irrigation may be useful in cotton fields as a management practice for whitefly without reducing natural enemy populations

A model-based approach to assess the effectiveness of pest biocontrol by natural enemies

Main goal: The aim of this note is to propose a modeling approach for assessing the effectiveness of pest biocontrol by natural enemies in diversified agricultural landscapes including several pesticide-based management strategies. Our approach combines a stochastic landscape model with a spatially-explicit model of population dynamics. It enables us to analyze the effect of the landscape composition (proportion of semi-natural habitat, non-treated crops, slightly treated crops and conventionally treated crops) on the effectiveness of pest biocontrol. Effectiveness is measured through environmental and agronomical descriptors, measuring respectively the impact of the pesticides on the environment and the average agronomic productivity of the whole landscape taking into account losses caused by pests. Conclusions: The effectiveness of the pesticide, the intensity of the treatment and the pest intrinsic growth rate are found to be the main drivers of landscape productivity. The loss in productivity due to a reduced use of pesticide can be partly compensated by biocontrol. However, the model suggests that it is not possible to maintain a constant level of productivity while reducing the use of pesticides, even with highly efficient natural enemies. Fragmentation of the semi-natural habitats and increased crop rotation tend to slightly enhance the effectiveness of biocontrol but have a marginal effect compared to the predation rate by natural enemies. This note was written in the framework of the ANR project PEERLESS "Predictive Ecological Engineering for Landscape Ecosystem Services and Sustainability"(ANR-12-AGRO-0006)

Biological control in French Guiana, Guadeloupe and Martinique

Several biological control agents have been introduced successfully in Guyana, and / or Guadeloupe and Martinique: three tachinid dipterans and one hymenopteran for control of sugarcane borers, a ladybird and a hymenopteran parasitoid against the pink hibiscus mealybug, a hymenopteran parasitoid to control Asian citrus psyllid, another hymenopteran parasitoid against citrus blackfly, and a hymenopteran parasitoid for control of fruit flies. Mass rearings of a lacewing and a Trichogramma egg parasitoid are being implemented in Martinique for augmentative biocontrol. Use of native natural enemies in conservation biocontrol projects is being initiated in several crops, after a period of intensive prospecting for natural enemies. A recently started project in French Guiana aims at control of the mango mealybug by introducing two exotic parasitoids

The state of commercial augmentative biological control: plenty of natural enemies, but a frustrating lack of uptake

Augmentative biological control concerns the periodical release of natural enemies. In com- mercial augmentative biological control, natural enemies are mass-reared in biofactories for release in large numbers to obtain an immediate control of pests. The history of commercial mass production of natural enemies spans a period of roughly 120 years. It has been a successful, environmentally and eco- nomically sound alternative for chemical pest control in crops like fruit orchards, maize, cotton, sugar cane, soybean, vineyards and greenhouses. Currently, aug- mentative biological control is in a critical phase, even though during the past decades it has moved from a cottage industry to professional production. Many efficient species of natural enemies have been discovered and 230 are commercially available today. The industry developed quality control guidelines, mass production, shipment and release methods as well as adequate guidance for farmers. However, augmentative biological control is applied on a frustratingly small acreage. Trends in research and application are reviewed, causes explaining the limited uptake are discussed and ways to increase application of augmentative biological control are explored

Peran Insektisida Botani Ekstrak Biji Mimba Untuk Konservasi Musuh Alami Dalam Pengelolaan Serangga Hama Kapas.

Natural Enemies Conservation: The Role of Neem-seed Extracts for Natural Enemies Conservation Used of Cotton Insect Pest Control. Insects associated with cotton plant are numerous, as the plant bears extrafloral nectar. More than 90 species of natural enemies are reported and identified. They could manage the cotton pest, keeping the pest population is under action threshold level when their presence is considered in scouting and action threshold concept. However, most of cotton farmers are insecticide-spray-minded people who think that insecticide sprays is a must in cotton cultivation. This behavior is unfavorable for the natural enemies in building their population so they can act as an effective mortality factor for the pest. Neem seed extract (NSE) is toxic to herbivores but relatively safe for natural enemies, so that it could be used as a substitute for synthetic chemical insecticides. Therefore, NSE is recommended to be used for conserving natural enemies in cotton agro ecosystem