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Compatibility of foliage-dwelling predatory mites and mycoinsecticides, and their combined efficacy against western flower thrips Frankliniella occidentalis

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Abstract

Foliage-dwelling predatory mites and foliar applications of mycoinsecticides are commonly used in biological control programs for Western flower thrips. A laboratory study was designed to examine the compatibility of two foliage-dwelling predatory mites with two commercially available mycoinsecticides, followed by a greenhouse study to assess their combined efficacy against Western flower thrips, with a view to their concurrent use in an integrated strategy. The following commercially available biocontrol agents were evaluated: the predatory mites, Neoseiulus cucumeris (Oudemans) and Amblyseius swirskii (Athias-Henriot); and entomopathogenic fungi, Metarhizium anisopliae (Metschnikoff) Sorokin (now classified as Metarhizium brunneum) strain F52 and Beauveria bassiana (Balsamo) GHA strain. Mortality caused by the mycoinsecticides ranged from 0 to 15.98% in the laboratory studies. In the greenhouse, the relative efficacy of predatory mite slow-release breeding sachets, Met52 EC spray, and a combined application was determined. Under high pest pressure, Met52 EC-alone was not as effective as N. cucumeris-alone or the combination treatment over 8 weeks. Neoseiulus cucumeris-alone provided better control of thrips than Met52 EC, but in a mixed infestation of thrips and two-spotted spider mites, the combination treatment worked best overall; the spider mites were effectively suppressed by Met52 EC. Under low pest pressure in the experiment with A. swirskii, use of Met52 EC or A. swirskii sachets effectively suppressed thrips population growth; moreover, the combination treatment completely eliminated both thrips and spider mites.

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Acknowledgements

This study was funded by Growing Forward, a Canadian federal–provincial–territorial agreement aimed at supporting a profitable and innovative agriculture sector; Flowers Canada (Ontario) Inc. Collaborative Research Agreement ‘To develop procedures, knowledge and products that will make biocontrol programs successful for Canadian greenhouse floriculture growers’; OMAFRA-U of G Research Contract 200246 ‘Optimizing Biological Control Strategies in Greenhouse Floriculture: Interactions, Integration and Implementation’; and Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada’s Agriinnovation Program: Industry-led Research and Development Stream for Project AIP-P216 ‘Improved Biocontrol Strategies for Canadian Greenhouse Horticulture.’ Bioworks Inc., Victor, NY and Novozymes BioAg, Salem, VA provided additional funding to support Activities 2 and 5 in AAFC Project AIP-P216. The authors gratefully acknowledge the support and contributions of Bioworks Inc. and Novozymes BioAg. The authors would also like to thank Litza Coello for assisting in the experiment setups, data collection, and data entry.

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  1. Vineland Research and Innovation Centre, 4890 Victoria Avenue North, Vineland Station, Box 4000, Lincoln, ON, L0R 2E0, Canada

    Taro Saito & Michael Brownbridge

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  1. Taro Saito
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  2. Michael Brownbridge
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M.B. conceived the study. T.S. designed and conducted experiments, and analyzed data. T.S. conceived the manuscript structure. Both authors wrote, read and approved the manuscript.

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Correspondence to Michael Brownbridge.

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This article does not contain any studies with human participants or animals performed by any of the authors.

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Communicated by S. T. Jaronski.

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Saito, T., Brownbridge, M. Compatibility of foliage-dwelling predatory mites and mycoinsecticides, and their combined efficacy against western flower thrips Frankliniella occidentalis. J Pest Sci 91, 1291–1300 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10340-018-0991-z

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