Establishment of a wheat banker plant system for the parasitoid Aphidius gifuensis against Myzus persicae in greenhouse chili pepper

Abstract

The green peach aphid, Myzus persicae Sulzer, is one of the most destructive pests of cruciferous crops with a cosmopolitan distribution. Aphidius gifuensis Ashmead is a solitary parasitoid of M. persicae and Sitobion avenae F., which are important pests of vegetables and winter wheat, respectively. To select a suitable banker plant to culture A. gifuensis in mass as a biological control agent against M. persicae, the reproductive potentials of A. gifuensis with S. avenae and M. persicae as hosts were investigated. The intrinsic rate of increase (r) of A. gifuensis parasitizing S. avenae on wheat cultivar Annong (0.3703 day−1) was significantly greater than those on wheat cultivars Jimai (0.3374 day−1) and Shandong (0.3417 day−1). After a host change, the intrinsic rate of increase (r) of A. gifuensis with M. persicae infesting chili pepper (0.3626 day−1) was significantly greater than on sweet pepper (0.3329 day−1) and tomato (0.3445 day−1). In conclusion, the efficiency at which A. gifuensis in Annong wheat banker plant system controls M. persicae infesting chili pepper might be best among the three tested vegetables.