Pest regulation and support of natural enemies in agriculture: Experimental evidence of within field wildflower strips

Agroecological engineering; Conservation biological control; Plant diversity; Aphids; Predators; Parasitoids; Ingénierie agroécologique; Lutte biologique par conservation; Diversité végétale; Pucerons; Prédateurs; Parasitoides

Abstract :

[en] tRestoring ecosystem services in agriculture is vital to reach a sustainable food production. More specif-ically, developing farming practices which enhance biological pest control is a main issue for today’sagriculture. The aim of this study was to assess whether the two strategies of complicating the search ofhost plants by pests by increasing plant diversity, and of supporting their natural enemies by managinghabitats, could be combined simultaneously at the field scale to restore biological pest control and reducechemical insecticide use. In Gembloux (Belgium), wildflower strips (WFS) were sown within wheat cropsin which pests (i.e., aphids), their predators (i.e. aphidophagous hoverflies, lacewings and ladybeetles)and parasitoid wasps were monitored for 10 weeks in the period of May through July 2015 as indicatorsof the ES of pest control. Aphids were significantly reduced and adult hoverflies favoured in wheat inbetween WFS, compared to monoculture wheat plots. No significant differences were observed for adultlacewings, ladybeetles and parasitoids. In all treatments, very few lacewing and ladybeetle larvae wereobserved on wheat tillers. The abundance of hoverfly larvae was positively correlated with the aphid den-sity on tillers in between WFS, showing that increasing food provisions by multiplying habitats withinfields, and not only along margins, can help supporting aphidophagous hoverflies in crops. By enhancingthe ecosystem services of biological pest control, this study shows that increasing both plant diversityand managing habitats for natural enemies may reduce aphid populations, hence insecticide use. Futureresearch should continue this vein of work by quantifying the link between agricultural practices and thedelivery of ecosystem services in order to guide future measures of agricultural policies.

Disciplines :

Entomology & pest control
Environmental sciences & ecology
Agriculture & agronomy

Author, co-author :

Hatt, Séverin ; Université de Liège > Agronomie, Bio-ingénierie et Chimie (AgroBioChem) > Entomologie fonctionnelle et évolutive

Chevalier Mendes Lopes, Thomas ; Université de Liège > Agronomie, Bio-ingénierie et Chimie (AgroBioChem) > Entomologie fonctionnelle et évolutive

Boeraeve, Fanny ; Université de Liège > Ingénierie des biosystèmes (Biose) > Biodiversité et Paysage

Chen, Julian; Chinese Academy of Agriculture Science > Institute of Plant Protection

Francis, Frédéric ; Université de Liège > Agronomie, Bio-ingénierie et Chimie (AgroBioChem) > Entomologie fonctionnelle et évolutive

Language :

English

Title :

Pest regulation and support of natural enemies in agriculture: Experimental evidence of within field wildflower strips

Alternative titles :

[fr] Régulation des ravageurs et soutien des ennemis naturels en agriculture: Preuves expérimentales du semis de bandes fleuries dans les parcelles

Publication date :

2017

Journal title :

Ecological Engineering

ISSN :

0925-8574

Publisher :

Elsevier Science

Volume :

Pages :

240-245

Peer reviewed :

Peer Reviewed verified by ORBi

Additional URL :

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0925857416306176

Funders :

CARE AgricultureIsLife (University of Liège)
Chinese Opening Fund of State Key Laboratory for Biology of Plant Diseases and Insect Pests [SKLOF201601]

Available on ORBi :

since 10 December 2016

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