Abstract
Green peach aphid (Myzus persicae Sulzer) (Hemiptera: Aphididae) is a serious greenhouse pest with a short generation time, parthenogenetic reproduction and a broad host range. Banker plant systems are becoming a more common form of biological control for this pest. This system consists of grain “banker plants” infested with R. padi, an alternative hosts for the parasitoid Aphidius colemani. Thus A. colemani can reproduce on the banker plant when M. persicae populations are low. This system can increase pest suppression; however, like other biological control tools, efficacy is inconsistent. One reason is because several different grain species have been used. Our studies determined if there were benefits to planting interspecific mixture banker plants, similar to when open agricultural systems use mixed cropping. Our study found that although banker plants grow larger when planted as mixtures this added plant growth does not increase in the number of aphids, or mummies an individual banker plant can sustain. Rye banker plants grew larger, and sustained more mummies than the other species we tested, but barley banker plants resulted in a similar number of aphids in a more condensed area. Ultimately, we did not see any differences in pest suppression between monoculture banker plants, mixture banker plants, or our augmentative release treatment. However, using banker plants resulted in more female parasitoids than the augmentative release, a benefit to using banker plant systems.
Highlights
Increasing plant diversity can be an effective conservation biological control strategy in many cropping systems
There was not a significant main effect of banker plant treatment on the number of plants surviving within a pot
We found that interspecific mixture banker plants are neither a benefit nor a detriment to the aphid banker plant system
Summary
Increasing plant diversity can be an effective conservation biological control strategy in many cropping systems. Plant diversity can increase insect natural enemy abundance, fitness, and efficacy by providing alternative hosts and food resources [1,2,3]. Natural enemies are scarcer in greenhouses than outdoor cropping systems because greenhouse construction excludes them. Greenhouses often contain a monoculture or low crop diversity which may not provide sufficient resources for natural enemies. Banker plant systems are a conservation biological control strategy for greenhouses which increase plant diversity and provide resources for natural enemies [4,5]. The goal of a banker plant system is to support a reproducing natural enemy population within a crop to provide pest suppression for an extended period [4]
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