An Evidence to Use Cotes/a plutellae (Kurdjumov) (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) as a Field Control Agent against Diamondback Moth, Plutella xylostella L (Lepidoptera: Plutellidae)

Abstract

The parasitic effectiveness of Cotesia plutellae Kurdjumov for the control of diamondback moth (DBM), Plutella xylostella L., was investigated without spraying pesticides in the greenhouse, and the damage degrees of Brassica rapa cv. Pakchoi grown in parasitoid-applied plot and control plot were evaluated. Among the 961 fourth instar DBM larvae collected in the common cabbage fields at Kwanshan region in Taiwan, 336 cocoons of C. plutellae were harvested from DBM larvae, which showed a parasitism rate of 35.0%. A total of 650 DBM adults and 600 C. plutellae adults were released according to the releasing scheme in the experiment plot. As a result, 56.7% of the DBM larvae were parasitized by C. plutellae adults 12 days before harvest, and the parasitism reached 80.8% at six days before harvest. At the harvest time, a population density of C. plutellae cocoons in the experiment plot was 2.2/plant, and that of normal DBM larvae was 0.5/plant. The density of DBM in the control plot was much higher than in the parasitoid-released plot by 7.7/plant. In the first survey, the density of DBM larvae on a Pakchoi plant was quite low, 0.3 ∼ 0.8 larvae. However, the DBM population increased dramatically after six days later, 5.7-10.1 larvae/plant. The population density of DBM larvae showed clear difference between the parasitoid-released plot and control plot. The parasitism increased to nearly two fold within a week after the release of DBM adults. As a further study, a combining use of two or more species para-sitoids could be considered to improve a parasitism against DBM in the fields.