Integrating spatially explicit molecular and ecological methods to explore the significance of non-crop vegetation to predators of brassica pests

Heimoana, V.; Pilkington, Leigh J.; Raman, Anantanarayanan; Mitchell, Andrew; Nicol, H. I.; Johnson, Anne C.; Gurr, Geoff M.

doi:10.1016/j.agee.2017.01.008

Cited by 21 publications

(28 citation statements)

References 55 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…Social wasps did not respond to pesticide usage, suggesting that wasp communities inside forest remnants may serve as a permanent reservoir for wasps found in adjacent coffee plantations, allowing rapid recolonization of crops after disturbance such as pesticide applications and nest removal by farmers. Indeed, monocultures often fail to provide a constant supply of resources for beneficial insects, leading biological control agents to rely heavily on adjacent non-crop habitats to obtain their ecological needs and recolonize adjacent crop matrix after disturbances (Heimoana et al 2017). Table 3 Significant models to explain the species richness and abundance of social wasps, pest occurrence, and natural pest control in 16 coffee-producing landscapes in Southern Brazil in the dry and wet seasons.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Forest cover enhances natural enemy diversity and biological control services in Brazilian sun coffee plantations

Medeiros

Grandinete

Manning

et al. 2019

Agron. Sustain. Dev.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Landscape structure and crop management directly affect insect communities, which can influence agriculturally relevant ecosystem services and disservices. However, little is known about the effect of landscape structure and local factors on pests, natural enemies, and biological control services in the Neotropics. We investigated how environmental conditions at local and landscape levels affect Leucoptera coffeella (insect pest), social wasps (natural enemies), and the provision of biological control services in 16 Brazilian coffee plantations under different crop management and landscape contexts. We considered microclimatic conditions, coffee plantation size, and management intensity at the local level; and forest cover, landscape diversity, and edge density at the landscape level. Pest population, wasp communities, and biocontrol services were monitored in wet and dry seasons when L. coffeella outbreaks occur. We found that the amount of forest in the surrounding landscape was more important for explaining patterns than the local environment, landscape diversity, or landscape configuration. In both seasons, L. coffeella was negatively affected by forest cover, whereas biological control and richness and abundance of social wasps increased with increasing forest cover at multiple spatial scales. Moreover, biological control was positively correlated with wasp abundance during pest outbreaks, suggesting that social wasps are important natural enemies and provide pest control services within coffee plantations. We provide the first empirical evidence that forest cover is important for the maintenance of social wasp diversity and associated pest control services in a Brazilian coffee-producing region.

show abstract

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Forest cover enhances natural enemy diversity and biological control services in Brazilian sun coffee plantations

Medeiros

Grandinete

Manning

et al. 2019

Agron. Sustain. Dev.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Natural enemy populations are negatively affected by frequent and intense human disturbance from harvest, tillage and pesticide use that characterize intensive agriculture 2,4 . Remnant non-crop habitats such as ground cover or wild plants can provide shelter, being a source habitat from which natural enemies can colonize crops 1,5 . The reintroduction of appropriate flowering plants into monocultures can promote longevity, fecundity, sex ratio and searching capacity of natural enemies such as parasitoids [6][7][8][9] .…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Alyssum (Lobularia maritima) selectively attracts and enhances the performance of Cotesia vestalis, a parasitoid of Plutella xylostella

Chen

Mao

Reynolds

et al. 2020

Sci Rep

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

the use of nectar-providing plants to nourish natural enemies of pest species has become a widelyused approach in conservation biological control to reduce pest damage without the indiscriminate use of insecticides. Choice of plant species is crucial to maximize benefits, but suitable species are yet to be identified for many important crop-pest systems. Here we explored the suitability of three candidate nectar plants for use in brassica vegetables to suppress the globally significant pest, Plutella xylostella L. (Lepidoptera: plutellidae), using the widely-distributed parasitoid, Cotesia vestalis (Haliday) (Hymenoptera: Braconidae). Volatiles of alyssum (Lobularia maritima (L.) Desv) (Brassicaceae) were attractive to the parasitoid and access to flowering shoots increased adult longevity and realized fecundity of C. vestalis. Moreover, adult diamondback moth derived no benefit from this flower. In contrast, buckwheat (Fagopyrum esculentum Moench) (polygonaceae), a species widely used in conservation biological control in other systems, increased the longevity and fecundity of both pest and parasitoid, rendering it less suitable. A third plant, heronsbill (Portulaca grandiflora Hook.) (Portulacaceae) denied benefit to the pest and promoted longevity of the parasitoid under nochoice conditions but did not improve fecundity and was repellent to female parasitoids under choice conditions. The contrasting effects of this set of plants illustrate the need to test multiple response variables and effects on both pest and natural enemy when seeking optimal nectar plants for use in a novel conservation biological control system.

show abstract

“…In this situation, six sprays per crop could not control DBM even though Diadegma persisted. This strongly suggests that DBM is an induced pest and potentially manageable if conditions can be improved for natural enemies, as has often been suggested (Furlong et al , 2004 a , b , 2008; Schellhorn et al , 2008 b ; Heimoana et al , 2017).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 65%

Management and population dynamics of diamondback moth (Plutella xylostella): planting regimes, crop hygiene, biological control and timing of interventions

Furlong

Yonow

et al. 2018

Bull. Entomol. Res.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Using an age-structured process-based simulation model for diamondback moth (DBM), we model the population dynamics of this major Brassica pest using the cropping practices and climate of Guangdong, China. The model simulates two interacting sub-populations (demes), each representing a short season crop. The simulated DBM abundance, and hence pest problems, depend on planting regime, crop hygiene and biological control. A continuous supply of hosts, a low proportion of crop harvested and long residue times between harvest and replanting each exacerbate pest levels. Biological control provided by a larval parasitoid can reduce pest problems, but not eliminate them when climate is suitable for DBM and under certain planting practices. The classic Integrated Pest Management (IPM) method of insecticide application, when pest threshold is reached, proved effective and halved the number of insecticide sprays when compared with the typical practice of weekly insecticide application.

show abstract

Integrating spatially explicit molecular and ecological methods to explore the significance of non-crop vegetation to predators of brassica pests

Cited by 21 publications

References 55 publications

Forest cover enhances natural enemy diversity and biological control services in Brazilian sun coffee plantations

Forest cover enhances natural enemy diversity and biological control services in Brazilian sun coffee plantations

Alyssum (Lobularia maritima) selectively attracts and enhances the performance of Cotesia vestalis, a parasitoid of Plutella xylostella

Management and population dynamics of diamondback moth (Plutella xylostella): planting regimes, crop hygiene, biological control and timing of interventions

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About