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Funded Project |
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Funding Program:
IPM Partnership Grants |
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Project Title:
Guardian Plant Systems for Greenhouse IPM (Year 1) |
Project Directors (PDs):
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Lead State: NY Lead Organization: IPM Laboratories, Inc. |
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Cooperating State(s):
Vermont |
| Undesignated Funding: $37,985 |
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Start Date: Apr-01-2007 End Date: Mar-31-2008 |
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Site/Commodity: greenhouse, nursery, tomatoes, poinsettias, eggplants |
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Area of Emphasis: guardian plants, trapping, biocontrol, biological control |
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Summary:
An innovative pest management system using eggplants as crop guardians has evolved over the last decade in Holland and Canada in peppers, tomatoes, fuchsias, and poinsettias. For whitefly control, the eggplants pull whitefly out of the crops, the growers apply natural enemies directly to the eggplants, and in some crops, the eggplants supply reproduction sites for the natural enemies. The eggplants have also assisted in determining if pesticide action thresholds have been reached by offering the grower an efficient snapshot of the natural enemy impact on pest populations within the greenhouse. Thus, the eggplants have been serving as indicator, trap and banker plants in a technique that we refer to as Guardian Plant Systems (GPS). These GPS have substantially enhanced grower confidence in biological control, reduced monitoring time, and reduced the purchases of natural enemies, thereby reducing the cost of biological control and IPM.
Four experienced pest management groups from three northeastern states -- one from a university research laboratory (VT), one from the Department of Agriculture (PA) and two from private industry (NY) - will each demonstrate one of the following three Guardian Plant/crop combinations for 2 years: eggplants in tomatoes, eggplants in poinsettias and eggplants in specialty annuals. Three of the demonstrations will occur at commercial greenhouses, 2 of which already use whitefly natural enemies in their crops (tomatoes and poinsettias). At the third commercial greenhouse, we will be testing the eggplant GPS in a crop where there is no prior history of GPS use: specialty annuals. Each cooperator will gather and compare data on whitefly and natural enemy incidence in the crop with data on whitefly and natural enemy incidence on the GPS. They will also compare costs, depending on available data, between conventional chemical treatments and biological control, or between biological control with and without GPS. Participants will share information by meeting once a year for two years for the purposes of comparing data, results and styles of observation and analysis. All cooperators will actively share the project information with many grower groups and with the GO IPM Working Group of NEIPM as the project progresses. This project will encourage rapid innovation in Guardian Plant management by timely sharing of methods to seed rapid implementation by greenhouse growers. Objectives: 1. Evaluate use of eggplant Guardian Plant Systems (GPS) in three greenhouse crop systems: bedding plants, tomatoes and poinsettias. 2. Compare costs of GPS with those of standard parasitoid release strategies in poinsettias and tomatoes and with conventional chemical control in research poinsettias. 3. Disseminate information about GPS and trial results regionally via fact sheets, web pages and presentations at grower meetings. Proposal |
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Final Report: |
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Outcomes Question #1: Do eggplant GPS attract whitefly and act as an early warning indicator? Low to moderate levels of silverleaf whitefly (mean: 0-3 adults/poinsettia, 0-150 adults/sticky trap, 0-8 nymphs/plant) were present throughout the season. Whitefly adults were found 1 week earlier on the GPS than on sticky traps. When low levels of whitefly were observed, more were found on the GPS than on sticky traps. In one of the test greenhouses, >12 times more whitefly adults were found on the GPS than the poinsettias when whitefly populations were high. When considered over the season, >6 times more nymphs were found on the eggplants than on poinsettias. In both greenhouses it took significantly less time to find a whitefly on the GPS than on the poinsettias and whitefly were always found on the eggplants. This demonstrates that GPS have the potential to save growers time and money by providing a cost effective scouting tool and clearly indicates that the GPS were more attractive to whiteflies than poinsettias (see graph). Question #2: Are Eretmocerus parasitoids sustained by the eggplant GPS with their whitefly prey? There were significantly more E. eremicus on the GPS than on the poinsettias. This was expected given the higher number of whitefly on the GPS compared with the poinsettias. It appeared that limited dispersal of the parasitoids away from the GPS occurred. There were always more parasitoids on the poinsettias located closest to the GPS and less on those farther away. There was evidence of significant host feeding on the whitefly nymphs by the parasitoids on the GPS with high nymph populations. Parasitism of whitefly nymphs was >40% on both the GPS and the poinsettias. E. eremicus appears to serve a dual role, both as a predator and a parasitoid. It is unclear if significant parasitoid reproduction occurred and if the natural enemy population was sustained on the GPS. To ensure that adequate pest suppression was achieved, we made parasitoid releases weekly. In future studies it would be valuable to assess the effect of reducing the number of releases made, which would lower management costs. Question #3: Does the use of the eggplant GPS help reduce pesticide use? In one test greenhouse where the GPS was used, no chemical pesticides were used in the finishing phase of poinsettia production, though in past years the grower had made one or more applications. At the beginning of the season a moderate number of whitefly were detected, but after the parasitoids became established, the population remained at low levels throughout the rest of the season. In the other test greenhouse, pesticide usage was reduced by 50% compared to equivalent greenhouses (2 vs 4 pesticides) where the GPS was not used. At the start of the season, this site had a moderate-high, level of whitefly infestation. The whitefly infestations became so high on the GPS that they were removed so they didn't serve as a pest source. Overall, the GPS system has a great potential to be an effective tool for the reduction of pesticide use in commercial greenhouses. If used throughout commercial greenhouses, a significant reduction in pesticide use would be realized. Better sanitation practices and reduction of residual whitefly populations before the season begins would enhance the effectiveness of the GPS. We found conducting this research in commercial greenhouses was a highly effective means of transferring technology to growers. The owners and staff at the greenhouse sites were actively involved in the project, and invested in its success. Staff learned first hand how to identify the pests and conduct the scouting. One of the cooperating growers has agreed to take part in the Tri-state Greenhouse IPM workshops in ME, NH and VT to share his experiences and knowledge about IPM with other growers. To educate the public about the efforts these growers were making towards producing plants ecologically, we produced posters, designed with input from the growers, explaining the project (see below). These were individualized for each grower. The growers were eager to demonstrate their involvement in the project. |
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Impacts Summary of Our Results * There were more whitefly adults and nymphs on the eggplant GPS than on the poinsettias, demonstrating that eggplants are suitable as a trap plant. * It took less time to find whiteflies on the eggplant GPS than by randomly scouting individual poinsettias. * More parasitoids were present on the GPS than on the poinsettia crop. * Pesticide use was reduced by 50-100% in commercial poinsettia crops by using the GPS. |
Report Appendices
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