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A push–pull strategy to control aphids combines intercropping with semiochemical releases

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Abstract

Even if insect pest populations can be reduced by increasing plant diversity through intercropping, natural enemies are not always favored in such systems. Alternatively, semiochemical substances have been tested to enhance biological control, with inconsistent results. Combining both strategies can be an interesting way to maximize pest control. In this work, a 2-year setup involving wheat–pea strip intercropping combined with the release of E-β-farnesene (EBF) or methyl salicylate (MeSA) was tested as a push–pull strategy to simultaneously repel aphids and attract beneficials. Two types of slow-release formulation (i.e., oil and alginate beads) containing EBF or MeSA were deployed with the intercropping. The abundance of aphids was significantly decreased, while hoverfly larvae and mummified aphids increased on both pea plants and wheat tillers by the release of oil-formulated EBF and MeSA. The proportion parasitism of the aphid-parasitism rate [mummies/(aphids + mummies)] was also increased by treating both crops in both years. Releasing EBF through oil rather than alginate beads proved significantly better for attracting natural enemies and reducing aphids. Aphids were negatively correlated with the density of hoverflies (both adults and larvae) and numbers of mummies. All these results showed that combining intercropping with the release of EBF or MeSA formulated in oil can significantly reduce aphid density and attract their natural enemies. Therefore, the combination of both strategies could help farmers reduce the use of insecticides.

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Change history

  • 20 October 2017

    The author name was published wrongly in the original publication of the article. The correct author name is “Qingxuan Xu”. The author apologized for this error.

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Acknowledgements

The authors thank the technical support provided by the Experimental Farm of Gembloux Agro-Bio Tech (University of Liège) for the installation and management of experimental fields, and Sidonie Artru for providing the data about the weather conditions. The research was funded by the CARE Agriculture Is Life (University of Liège). Qinxuan Xu was supported by National Key R & D Plan in China (2016YFD0300701), Cooperation Project between Belgium and China from MOST (2014DF32270), Séverin Hatt by CARE Agriculture Is Life (University of Liège), and Thomas Lopes by a PhD scholarship from FRIA (Fonds pour la Recherche en Industrie et Agronomie).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory for Biology of Plant Diseases and Insect Pests, Institute of Plant Protection, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, 2 West Yuan-ming-yuan Road, 100193, Beijing, People’s Republic of China

    Qinxuan Xu, Séverin Hatt, Yong Zhang & Julian Chen

  2. Functional and Evolutionary Entomology, Gembloux Agro-Bio Tech, University of Liège, Passage Des Déportés 2, B-5030, Gembloux, Belgium

    Qinxuan Xu, Séverin Hatt, Thomas Lopes, Yong Zhang & Frédéric Francis

  3. TERRA-AgricultureIsLife, Gembloux Agro-Bio Tech, University of Liege, Passage Des Déportés 2, B-5030, Gembloux, Belgium

    Séverin Hatt & Bernard Bodson

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  1. Qinxuan Xu
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  2. Séverin Hatt
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  4. Yong Zhang
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Correspondence to Julian Chen or Frédéric Francis.

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Communicated by I. Hiltpold.

A correction to this article is available online at https://doi.org/10.1007/s10340-017-0922-4.

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Xu, Q., Hatt, S., Lopes, T. et al. A push–pull strategy to control aphids combines intercropping with semiochemical releases. J Pest Sci 91, 93–103 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10340-017-0888-2

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