Habitat management to foster natural enemy colonization in tomato greenhouses

Par Agnes Ardanuy-Gabarra (post-doctorante, UMR Dynafor)

Conservation biological control (CBC) involves manipulation of the environment to promote natural enemy populations and to increase their effectiveness in controlling crop pests. CBC is particularly challenging in the case of annual crops as it requires natural enemies to successively disperse between crops and alternative habitats following a seasonal cycle. Here I will present a recent published paper showing how landscape composition influences early colonization and establishment of a key natural enemy in tomato greenhouses, and how active habitat management can be used as a compensatory strategy in those greenhouses with delayed spontaneous colonisation by natural enemies.

[Ardanuy, A., Figueras, M., Matas, M. et al. (2021). Banker plants and landscape composition influence colonisation precocity of tomato greenhouses by mirid predators. Journal of Pest Science. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10340-021-01387-y] .