Combining banker plants to achieve long-term pest control in multi-pest and multi-natural enemy cropping systems

Abstract

Banker plants increase biological pest control by supporting populations of non-pest arthropod species, used as alternative hosts or prey by natural enemies. Due to the specificity of trophic interactions, banker plants may not efficiently promote natural enemies with different ecologies. Yet in most cropping systems, different pest species are present together and require different biocontrol agents to efficiently control them. In the present study, we tested the combined use of two banker plants and their associated prey/host to enhance populations of the specialist parasitoid Encarsia formosa targeting the main tomato pest Bemisia tabaci, and a polyphagous ladybird Propylea japonica targeting the secondary pest Myzus persicae in tomato crops. In a laboratory and a greenhouse experiment, we measured the abundances of these four species using the Ricinus communis-Trialeurodes ricini banker plant system alone, in combination with the Glycines max-Megoura japonica system, or in absence of banker plants. We found that the first banker plant system enhanced populations of E. formosa, resulting in increased suppression of B. tabaci populations and the suppression of their outbreak in both our laboratory and greenhouse experiment. Conversely, abundances of P. japonica were not affected by this first system, but were significantly increased when the second was present. This resulted in increased control of M. persicae populations and the suppression of their early and late outbreaks. Our study demonstrates the potential for combined banker plants to provide long-term, sustainable control of multiple pests by their target natural enemies in complex agroecosystems. KeywordsAlternative prey • Bemisia tabaci • Biocontrol agent • Competition • Encarsia formosa • Functional plant • Myzus persicae • Propylea japonica • Secondary pest Key message • Multiple pest species are present simultaneously in cropping systems, requiring multiple natural enemies. • Multiple banker plants are needed to support populations of biocontrol agents with contrasted ecologies.Communicated by Cesar Rodriguez-Saona.Xu Chen and Coline C. Jaworski equally contributed to this study.

Optimizing the Use of Basil as a Functional Plant for the Biological Control of Aphids by Chrysopa pallens (Neuroptera: Chrysopidae) in Greenhouses

“…Some attention has been paid to the deployment of insectary plants at the periphery of greenhouses [ 19 , 20 ]. Similarly, ways have been investigated to use banker plants infested with non-pest alternative prey to aid BCA establishment [ 21 , 22 ]. Indeed, plants’ spatial arrangement can affect volatile release patterns and modulate natural enemy foraging dynamics [ 23 , 24 , 25 ].…”

Licorice strips enhance predator‐mediated biological control in China's cotton crop

“…29 Banker plants are also extensively used in arable field crops. 30 For example, strips with flowering Anethum graveolens L. and Centaurea cyanus L. enhance natural enemy diversity and boost biological pest control in adjacent potato crops. 31 China is the world's largest producer of cotton and domestic cotton production is primarily located in its north-western Xinjiang province.…”

“…For example, whitefly‐infested papaya plants enhances parasitoid populations and benefits pest control in glasshouse tomato 29 . Banker plants are also extensively used in arable field crops 30 . For example, strips with flowering Anethum graveolens L. and Centaurea cyanus L. enhance natural enemy diversity and boost biological pest control in adjacent potato crops 31 …”

Direct and indirect effects of banker plants on population establishment of Harmonia axyridis and aphid control on pepper crop

“…As an important form of CBC, banker plant system could preserve populations of beneficial arthropods in crops by providing alternative prey/hosts and could provide an on-farm refuge for spontaneous populations for sustainably effective pest control ( Frank, 2010 ; Huang et al., 2011 ; Li et al., 2015 ). The use of banker plant systems has been increasingly investigated and developed for greenhouse and field crops ( Zheng et al., 2017 ; Xu et al., 2020 ; Chen et al., 2022 ). However, research studies mainly focus on the establishment of the banker plant system ( Wang et al., 2020 ; Wang et al., 2021 ), and further research is needed to understand the quantitative relationship among trophies when the banker plant system applied to pest control ( Li et al., 2020 ).…”