Biological control of an acarine pest by single and multiple natural enemies

Abstract

Biological control of an acarine pest by single and multiple natural enemies Cakmak, I.; Janssen, A.R.M.; Sabelis, M.W.; Baspinar, H. General rightsIt is not permitted to download or to forward/distribute the text or part of it without the consent of the author(s) and/or copyright holder(s), other than for strictly personal, individual use, unless the work is under an open content license (like Creative Commons). Disclaimer/Complaints regulationsIf you believe that digital publication of certain material infringes any of your rights or (privacy) interests, please let the Library know, stating your reasons. In case of a legitimate complaint, the Library will make the material inaccessible and/or remove it from the website. Please Ask the Library: http://uba.uva.nl/en/contact, or a letter to: Library of the University of Amsterdam, Secretariat, Singel 425, 1012 WP Amsterdam, The Netherlands. You will be contacted as soon as possible. b s t r a c tWhen multiple predator species are introduced to control a single prey species, predator species may act synergistically if the rate of mortality of the prey exceeds the rate of mortality from all single predator species combined. Alternatively, the release of multiple predator species may yield a lower than expected prey mortality due to competitive interactions (including intraguild predation) amongst predators. The question of whether and when multiple natural enemies interact to produce lower or higher prey mortality than each predator species acting alone depends on the details of predator-predator interactions. In this study, we investigated whether combined releases of Phytoseiulus persimilis and Neoseiulus californicus provide better biological control of Tetranychus cinnabarinus on strawberry than releases of each predator species alone. Experiments were conducted in two commercial strawberry fields (Fragaria ananassa Duch. cv. 'Camarosa'). The release of P. persimilis alone and the combined release of N. californicus and P. persimilis reduced the numbers of T. cinnabarinus on strawberry equally. The densities of T. cinnabarinus in the treatment with N. californicus alone were significantly higher than in the other treatments, and this was the only treatment in which the economic injury level was surpassed. The densities of P. persimilis in absence of N. californicus were similar to those in presence of N. californicus. Hence, there was no significant adverse effect of the presence of N. californicus on the densities of P. persimilis. The densities of N. californicus in the absence of P. persimilis were lower than the densities in the presence of P. persimilis, but this difference was not significant. We conclude that, compared to releases with P. persimilis alone, there is no advantage to releasing N. californicus, either alone or in combination with P. persimilis.

Multiple natural enemies do not improve two spotted spider mite and flower western thrips control in strawberry tunnels

“…We found no significant differences when multiple predatory species were released to control TSSM numbers when compared with the release of P. persimilis alone. Schausberger and Walzer (2001) reported a similar situation with P. persimilis and N. californicus when released to control of Tetranychus cinnabarinus Boisduval on gerbera plants, and Cakmak et al (2009) found that the control of this species on strawberries was not improved when these two species were released together. TSSM suppression varied among crop phases being proportionally greater in the early crop phase in both years.…”

“…Multiple natural enemy releases have been employed as a way to improve pest suppression also in strawberries Cakmak et al, 2009;de Menten, 2011;Rahman et al, 2011). However, using multiple species may enhance or may reduce pest control, and there is no general agreement on whether the use of single or multiple biocontrol agents is economically profitable and beneficial for pest management (Gerson and Weintraub, 2007;Chow et al, 2010;Onzo et al, 2014).…”

Functional Responses and Prey-Stage Preferences of a Predatory Gall Midge and Two Predacious Mites with Twospotted Spider Mites,TetranychusUrticae, as Host

“…Some reports have documented that several predatory mites were effective in control of T. urticae (Rhodes and Liburd 2006; Fraulo and Liburd 2007; Cakmak et al 2009). However, other reports indicated that the use of some predator species as biological control agents had low efficacy in control of T. urticae on vegetable crops (Opit et al 1997).…”

Farmers' control practices against the invasive red spider mite, Tetranychus evansi Baker & Pritchard in Benin

“…In the long term, in collaboration with the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), the predator Phytoseiulus longipes Evans could be introduce as a biological control agent against T. evansi (Ferrero et al, 2011). Multiple natural enemy releases have been employed as a way to improve pest suppression (Yaninek et al, 1998;Hanna and Toko, 2001;Onzo et al, 2003;Yaninek and Hanna, 2003;Rhodes et al, 2006;Cakmak et al, 2009;Rahman et al, 2011; Azand em e-Hounmalon, pers. com.).…”