Biocontrol plants and functional diversity in biological control of the red spider mite Tetranychus urticae: A review
Bresch, Cécile | Poncet, Christine
This review aims at better understanding the employment of biocontrol plants in order to enhance the stability of populations of predatory mites in crop systems, with the ultimate goal to reduce pesticide use and to control pest mites on roses. We analyzed if plant species used in a banker plant system influenced the success in terms of quality of the harvested plant and of pest/predator numbers under greenhouse conditions, aiming at using conditions which correspond to the practice of the local producers in Southern France. The main hypothesis was that the presence of different species of biocontrol plants causes the presence of different numbers of predators and pests with a consequent different impact on crop health in a crop-pest-predator system, depending on the plants’functional attributes. Mainly plants with domatia were efficient. They increased the number of predators, stabilized their presence throughout the weeks of experiments, and reduced numbers of spider mites.The function of domatia was analysed through additional experiments which lead to the conclusion that plants with domatia can significantly enhance biological control of the red spider mite, and that especially Viburnum tinusis suited to be employed under the climatic conditions of the Mediterranean area.
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