The Potential for Decision Support Tools to Improve the Management of Root-Feeding Fly Pests of Vegetables in Western Europe

Abstract

Several important vegetable crops grown outdoors in temperate climates in Europe can be damaged by the root-feeding larvae of Diptera (Delia radicum, Delia floralis, Chamaepsila rosae, Delia platura, Delia florilega, Delia antiqua). Knowledge of pest insect phenology is a key component of any Integrated Pest Management (IPM) strategy, and this review considers the methods used to monitor and forecast the occurrence of root-feeding flies as a basis for decision-making by growers and the ways that such information can be applied. It has highlighted some current management approaches where such information is very useful for decision support, for example, the management of C. rosae with insecticidal sprays and the management of all of these pests using crop covers. There are other approaches, particularly those that need to be applied at sowing or transplanting, where knowledge of pest phenology and abundance is less necessary. Going forward, it is likely that the number of insecticidal control options available to European vegetable growers will diminish and they will need to move from a strategy which often involves using a single ‘silver bullet’ to a combination of approaches/tools with partial effects (applied within an IPM framework). For the less-effective, combined methods, accurate information about pest phenology and abundance and reliable decision support are likely to be extremely important.

The potential of soil amendment with insect exuviae and frass to control the cabbage root fly

“…As a consequence, crop losses can be as high as 100%, especially among young plants (Razinger et al, 2017). While some damage to roots may be tolerable for leaf or inflorescence vegetables such as cabbage or cauliflower, even slight damage can substantially reduce the quality of root vegetables like radish, turnip, or swede (Collier et al, 2020).…”

“…However, stricter regulations due to environmental concerns as well as the development of insecticide resistance in D. radicum have reduced the availability of effective products worldwide (Joseph & Iudice, 2020; Shuhang et al, 2016). As a result of bans and restrictions on the use of relevant insecticides, reliable options for chemical control are lacking in several European countries (Collier et al, 2020; Herbst et al, 2017). With levels of plant resistance to D. radicum generally being too low in brassica crops, growers thus increasingly need to rely on physical, cultural and biological control strategies (Santolamazza‐Carbone et al, 2017).…”

One Bat’s Waste is Another Man’s Treasure: A DNA Metabarcoding Approach for the Assessment of Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services Using Bat Faeces

“…Drepanosiphum platanoidis (Hemiptera: Aphididae) and Archips podanus (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae) each detected in one individual with a total of six reads for the former two species and 12 reads in the later. Chamaepsila rosae or carrot fly primarily affects crops such as carrots and parsnips (Collier et al 2020) and has been described as a major carrot pest within Europe (Szwejda and Wrzodak 2007).…”

Determination of the Influence of Mechanical Properties of Capsules and Seeds on the Susceptibility to Feeding of Mononychus pubctumalbum in Endangered Plant Species Iris aphylla L. and Iris sibirica L.

“…Several decades of research into interactions between plants and arthropods have revealed that these organisms are involved in the struggle for survival, which is based on sophisticated mechanisms of perception, signaling, and defensive activation on the plant side and on effective suppression of defense mechanisms and chemical and behavioral adaptations on the arthropod side [ 14 , 15 , 16 , 17 ].…”