Effects of flowering plants on parasitism of lettuce leafminers (Diptera: Agromyzidae)

Masetti, Antonio; Lanzoni, Alberto; Burgio, Giovanni

doi:10.1016/j.biocontrol.2010.05.016

Cited by 18 publications

(14 citation statements)

References 36 publications

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“…This is in contrast to a recent study on tomato crop, where the flowering strips were shown to act as a potential trap crop to sap‐sucking pests of tomato and to improve natural pest control (Balzan & Moonen, ). The inclusion of wildflower strips in two lettuce field experiments was associated with lower aphid abundance up to a distance of 10 m (Chaney, ; Skirvin et al., ), whereas in another study, higher parasitism of lettuce leafminers (Agromyzidae) was recorded even though this was not associated with a significant reduction of these pests (Masetti et al., ). In two recent reviews, vegetation diversification within agricultural habitats was consistently associated with enhanced biological control, measured in terms of abundance of natural enemies, herbivore suppression and parasitism, and a reduction in crop damage (Letourneau et al., ; Iverson et al., ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 98%

“…The stability of pollination services was found to decrease with distance from semi‐natural and natural habitats (Garibaldi et al., ). However, although both natural enemies and pollinators can be positively driven by the compositional complexity of agroecosystems (Shackelford et al., ), the influence of increased plant functional diversity on pollinators (Greenleaf & Kremen, ; Carvalheiro et al., ; Blaauw & Isaacs, ) and natural enemies (Masetti et al., ; Skirvin et al., ; Balzan & Moonen, ), and on the respective functions in horticultural crops, has often been treated separately.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Utilisation of plant functional diversity in wildflower strips for the delivery of multiple agroecosystem services

Balzan

Bocci

Moonen

2016

Entomologia Exp Applicata

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Increased plant diversity in cropping systems can play an important role in agriculture by enhancing arthropod-mediated ecosystem services, including biological control and pollination. However, there is limited research investigating the concurrent influence of plant functional diversity within cultivated systems on different arthropod functional groups, the provision of multiple ecosystem services, and crop yield. During a field experiment, repeated over 2 years, we measured the effect of increasing plant functional diversity on community structure of arthropod visitors, the abundance of multiple pests and induced crop damage, and fruit production in two varieties of tomato. Plant resources (floral and extra-floral nectar and pollen) were included within experimental plots in four levels, with each level increasing the plant functional group richness, based on floral morphology and availability of resources, in a replacement series. The presence of sown flower mixtures in experimental plots was associated with increased abundance and diversity of natural enemy functional groups and an enhanced abundance of bees (Hymenoptera: Apiformes). However, we only detected relatively small variability in arthropod visitors among types of mixtures, and increased abundance of natural enemies did not translate into stronger pest suppression or reduced crop damage. Lepidoptera pest damage was significantly higher in plots adjacent to wildflower strips, an ecosystem disservice, but a significantly higher crop productivity was recorded from these plots. Our results provide evidence that inclusion of non-crop plant resources in agroecosystems can improve the conservation of beneficial arthropods and may lead to increased crop productivity.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 98%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Utilisation of plant functional diversity in wildflower strips for the delivery of multiple agroecosystem services

Balzan

Bocci

Moonen

2016

Entomologia Exp Applicata

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“…This strategy involves conserving natural enemies and improving their performance by providing resources including shelter (Hossain et al 2002), and pollen or nectar for food (Wäckers et al 2007). There is a large amount of evidence for increased parasitoid abundance and parasitism levels when flowering plants are present (Balzan and Wäckers 2013;Berndt et al 2006;Díaz et al 2012;Ellis et al 2005;Lavandero et al 2005;Masetti et al 2010;Orre Gordon et al 2013;Segoli and Rosenheim 2013;Simpson et al 2011;Tylianakis et al 2004;Zhu et al 2013a). Potentially, however, floral resources can also have the unwanted effect of providing herbivorous insect pests with nutrients and increasing their performance (Baggen and Gurr 1998;Baggen et al 1999;Balzan and Wäckers 2013;Lavandero et al 2006;Romeis and Wäckers 2002;Wäckers et al 2007;Winkler et al 2010).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 93%

Selective enhancement of parasitoids of rice Lepidoptera pests by sesame (Sesamum indicum) flowers

et al. 2014

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Rice is one of the most important global crops but, despite suffering serious insect pest damage, has been less the subject of conservation biological control research compared with crops of importance in developed countries. Earlier studies of sesame (Sesamum indicum) as a nectar plant grown on the bunds around rice crop to promote natural enemies of rice pests had focused on the natural enemies of planthopper pests. But there is little available information on the effects of this plant's nectar on parasitoids of important rice stem borer pests, or on the extent to which sesame may be a selective food plant such that adult Lepidoptera do not feed on its nectar. The present laboratory study assessed the effect of sesame flowers on Apanteles ruficrus, Cotesia chilonis and Trichogramma chilonis and their stem borer hosts, Sesamia inferens and Chilo suppressalis. Adult survival of all parasitoid species was increased by the presence of S. indicum flowers compared with a water control. Realized fecundity of T. chilonis was significantly enhanced by sesame flowers. Egg production of both stem borer species was comparable for S. indicum and the water treatment, and significantly lower than the honey solution control. The same trend, illustrating lack of benefit from access to sesame nectar, was also apparent in adult longevity of C. suppressalis. These findings indicate that sesame is a selective food plant that is unlikely to promote key Lepidoptera pests of rice

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“…Masetti et al . () found that flowering strips, with Phacelia tanacetifolia as the dominant component of the planting mixture, promoted parasitism of ectoparasitoids over endoparasitoids of L. huidobrensis attacking lettuce crops in Italy, but there was no reduction in density of agromyzids. Oida & Kawana () used P. tanacetifolia as a banker plant to improve parasitism of L. chinensis in field‐grown onions; the agromyzid Chromatomyia horticola colonised the banker plant naturally and provided a host for parasitoids but did not attack the onions, while the banker plant also acted as an insectary plant for feeding parasitoids emerging from C. horticola .…”

Section: Promoting Parasitoids Within Australian Cropping Regionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Potential for biological control of the vegetable leafminer, Liriomyza sativae (Diptera: Agromyzidae), in Australia with parasitoid wasps

Ridland

Umina

Pirtle³

et al. 2020

Austral Entomology

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The vegetable leafminer, Liriomyza sativae Blanchard, poses a risk to vegetable and nursery production in mainland Australia since established in Cape York in 2015. Effective control overseas depends on maximising the impact of natural enemies. Problems with polyphagous Liriomyza pest species typically result from the destruction of their parasitoids by excessive use of non‐selective insecticides. Field studies are reviewed to identify parasitoid species involved in the biological control of L. sativae in open‐air and glasshouse production internationally and to assess the current knowledge of parasitoids of agromyzids in Australia. Overseas, invading Liriomyza populations have frequently been exploited by endemic parasitoids (often found on non‐pest agromyzid species), and non‐crop hosts have played a role as reservoirs of these parasitoids. The few published Australian field studies on the occurrence of agromyzid flies and their parasitoids show a large community of wasps attacking agromyzids, with species mainly from the Eulophidae, Pteromalidae and Braconidae. The most abundant recorded species are two cosmopolitan eulophid species, Hemiptarsenus varicornis (Girault) and Diglyphus isaea (Walker), and four Australian species: two eulophid species, Zagrammosoma latilineatum Ubaidillah and Closterocerus mirabilis Edwards & La Salle, one pteromalid species, Trigonogastrella sp., and one braconid species, Opius cinerariae Fischer, for which there is little biological information. One deficiency in the known assemblage in Australia is the absence of parasitoids from the Eucoilinae (Hymenoptera: Figitidae), a subfamily with several abundant species attacking agromyzids overseas. The composition and impact of the endemic parasitoid assemblage in Australia on populations of L. sativae needs to be assessed adequately in the field before the importation of additional exotic parasitoid species is contemplated. Overseas, two species, D. isaea and Dacnusa sibirica Telenga, are reared commercially for augmentative biological control, although the relatively high cost of production has restricted their release to protected cropping situations. Knowledge gaps remain locally about the taxonomy, distribution, host range and life cycle of parasitoids, and their potential impact on L. sativae.

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Effects of flowering plants on parasitism of lettuce leafminers (Diptera: Agromyzidae)

Cited by 18 publications

References 36 publications

Utilisation of plant functional diversity in wildflower strips for the delivery of multiple agroecosystem services

Utilisation of plant functional diversity in wildflower strips for the delivery of multiple agroecosystem services

Selective enhancement of parasitoids of rice Lepidoptera pests by sesame (Sesamum indicum) flowers

Potential for biological control of the vegetable leafminer, Liriomyza sativae (Diptera: Agromyzidae), in Australia with parasitoid wasps

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