Abstract
Due to issues with establishment and persistence of natural enemies in biological control, the provision of alternative food sources and oviposition sites are important factors to enhance pest control. In this study, three different supplementation treatments were examined for their ability to increase the populations of the predatory mite Amblydromalus limonicus, and its implications for greenhouse whitefly control on peppers and eggplants. These were: (1) pollen (Typha orientalis), (2) pollen and thread, (3) pollen, thread, and a substrate mixture of buckwheat, gorse, and rice husks, which were compared to a control treatment that had no supplementation. Significant treatment effects were found on pepper for A. limonicus (mite eggs p = 0.008, mobile mites p = <0.0001). The predatory mite successfully established and persisted at high population levels in the pollen-thread, and pollen-thread-substrate treatments. All supplementation treatments were able to control whitefly populations on peppers, while the control treatment failed to. The results obtained were formulated into possible application techniques for greenhouse growers to utilise.
Highlights
Greenhouse whitefly (Trialeurodes vaporariorum, Westwood) is one of the world’s most invasive greenhouse pests attacking over 800 species of host plants belonging to over 450 genera[1,2]
With the addition of pollen and/or substrates, significant control of greenhouse whitefly was achieved by A. limonicus on pepper plants but this was not observed on eggplants
A probable reason that contributed to effective control of greenhouse whitefly on pepper plants was the presence of Amblydromalus limonicus
Summary
Greenhouse whitefly (Trialeurodes vaporariorum, Westwood) is one of the world’s most invasive greenhouse pests attacking over 800 species of host plants belonging to over 450 genera[1,2]. This includes the biological control agent Encarsia formosa (Gahan), an entomopathogenic fungi (Biotelliga products), and the use of chemical control[5] These methods have not been able to provide sufficient control and greenhouse whitefly remains an important pest species within greenhouses in New Zealand[5]. A higher fecundity and shorter developmental times has been observed when the predatory mite was reared on plant exudates and pollen, compared to artificial diets[27,28] This absence of diapause and ability to exploit an array of food sources, strengthens its capability as a biological control agent. These studies indicate that both pollen and twine provisioning can assist in predatory mite establishment and serve to increase the efficacy of biological control programmes under greenhouse conditions
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