The Fitness of Mass Rearing Food on the Establishment of <i>Chrysopa pallens</i> in a Banker Plant System under Fluctuating Temperature Conditions
Banker plant systems can be used to sustain a reproducing population of biological control agents (BCAs) within a crop, thus providing long-term pest suppression. The founder population of natural enemies in banker plant systems is usually mass-reared on factitious hosts. Thus, a better understandin...
Guardado en:
| Autores principales: | , , , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Formato: | article |
| Lenguaje: | EN |
| Publicado: |
MDPI AG
2021
|
| Materias: | |
| Acceso en línea: | https://doaj.org/article/9257de7062da440e82f33bbe45859c53 |
| Etiquetas: |
Agregar Etiqueta
Sin Etiquetas, Sea el primero en etiquetar este registro!
|
| Sumario: | Banker plant systems can be used to sustain a reproducing population of biological control agents (BCAs) within a crop, thus providing long-term pest suppression. The founder population of natural enemies in banker plant systems is usually mass-reared on factitious hosts. Thus, a better understanding of the population fitness and pest control performance of mass-reared BCAs in the field is crucial when developing integrated pest management (IPM) strategies. In this study, we determined the fitness of the generalist predator, <i>Chrysopa pallens</i> (Hemiptera: Chrysopidae) ever cultured on different food sources (i.e., mass rearing food, <i>Corcyra cephalonica</i> eggs, and aphid food, <i>Megoura japonica</i>) preying on <i>Aphis craccivora</i> in a banker plant system in a greenhouse based on Chi’s age-stage, two-sex life table analysis method. The life tables and predation rate parameters of <i>C. pallens</i> were not significantly different between both treatments under fluctuating temperature conditions. <i>Corcyra</i><i>cephalonica</i> eggs did not significantly weaken the performances of <i>C. pallens</i> in a <i>Vicia faba</i>–<i>A. craccivora</i> banker plant system compared to aphids. In conclusion, <i>C. cephalonica</i> eggs can be used for the mass production of <i>C. pallens</i> as the founder population in a banker plant system. Moreover, linking the life table data with the predation rate is an effective strategy for evaluating mass rearing programs in establishing banker plant systems. |
|---|