Recipient Organization
PURDUE UNIVERSITY
(N/A)
WEST LAFAYETTE,IN 47907
Performing Department
Entomology
Non Technical Summary
Biological control is"the action of parasites, predators, and pathogens in maintaining another organism's density at a lower level than would occur in the absence of the natural enemies" (DeBach 1964).Biological control continues to be proven one of the most effective, environmentally sound, and cost-effective pest management approaches used to controlling arthropod and mite pests. It will play an increasingly important role in integrated pest management (IPM) programs as broad-spectrum pesticide use continues to decline. Moreover, biological control is a cornerstone of organic farming, and the production of organic commodities in the United States continues to increase. Organic farming has shown an increase in retail sales of nearly 300% since the recording began in 2002.The mission of this regional project is to facilitate research and implementation activities among the participating institutions and organizations in applied biological control.Despite many advances in recent years, our practical and conceptual understanding of success and failure in applied biological control fall short of meeting certain current and future requirements. We struggle to predoct the success and failure of implementing this strategy of pest control, and understanding the mechanisms driving these dynamics. Basic research on augmentation and conservation of natural enemies is also needed. In augmentation, we urgently need basic efficacy data in order to more readily incorporate commercially available predators and parasitoids of arthropod pests into IPM systems.Regionality is essential to implementing biological control-based solutions to our pest problems for the following reasons: 1) numerous target pests occur in three or more western states or territories; for these pests, the research effort must be coordinated and duplication minimized to effectively utilize very limited resources; 2) regional importation/quarantine facilities are critical for a coordinated response to exotic arthropod pests and weeds. These facilities are finite, there are no plans to expand them in the foreseeable future, and they serve the needs of all states and territories in the region; and 3) interstate exchange of information and exotic species/biotypes is facilitated through a regional approach; 4) insects know no boundaries and navigate on a global scale. In order to provide habitats for natural enemies, limit exposure to pesticides and establish population suppression of pests we need area-wide (or regional) adoption of best management practices. Without a regional project in biological control, the western states and territories and beyond will not be able to rapidly share current information on controlling new and existing pest species, many of which have ranges over multiple states.The overall goal of this project is to bring together experts, knowledge, and resources to better implement biological control across systems to manage pests using natural enemies.
Animal Health Component
50%
Research Effort Categories
Basic
30%
Applied
50%
Developmental
20%
Goals / Objectives
Goal B: Conserve Natural Enemies to Increase Biological Control of Target Pests.
Goal C: Augment Natural Enemies to Increase Biological Control Efficacy.
Goal D: Evaluate environmental and economic impacts and raise public awareness of biological control.
Project Methods
Characterize and identify pest and natural enemy communities and their interactions.Two critical first steps in the conservation of natural enemies are determination of the identity of the species involved and characterization of the ecological communities in which they reside. This information is fundamental to developing an understanding of how perturbations such as pesticide applications will influence pest and natural enemy densities.A survey and collection of natural enemies will be conducted throughout the geographic area of infestation of each target pest. Parasitized pests and natural enemies will be held in the laboratory to allow natural enemy emergence, identification and determination of levels of parasitism and hyperparasitism.Identify and assess factors potentially disruptive to biological control.Conservation biological control involves the alteration or modification of the environment to favor natural enemies, either by reducing adverse factors or by providing missing requisites. Thus, specific factors that impede or reduce the efficacy of biological control agents must be identified and quantified as to their impact. For many of the target pest species, this involves the identification of agricultural practices (mainly broad spectrum pesticide applications) that impact biological control agents, including the impact of herbicides on weed biological control agents. Many studies have focused on laboratory surveys and bioassays of various pesticides and subsequent large-scale field tests involving these "softer" compounds. Other factors, such as climatic extremes, indigenous natural enemies, cultural management practices, etc., can also be disruptive to the natural enemies.Implement and evaluate habitat modification, horticultural practices, and pest suppression tactics to conserve natural enemy activity.As mentioned above, the conservation approach to biological control seeks to enhance the effectiveness of natural enemies, but may also target the pest as well. Examples of the conservation approach include maintaining weedy borders around fields or intercropping with nectar/pollen producing species to increase longevity and reproduction in the natural enemies; providing nesting boxes or shelters to improve reproduction or create refugia from environmental extremes; and using various agronomic approaches to increase the effectiveness of the natural enemies and/or hinder the target pest (e.g., plant spacing, cover crops, polycultures, strip crops, strip-cutting, crop rotation, trap crops, early/late planting and harvesting, etc.). These approaches may help conserve natural enemies while still controlling the target pest. The utilization of selective pesticides (especially microbials), including their selective use (e.g., reduced dosages and frequency of application, and selective timing of pesticide application) may help conserve natural enemies while still controlling the target pest. Research studies will focus on the implementation of these approaches and especially field-scale evaluation of the impact on host/prey diversity, natural enemy activity, and pest suppression.Assess biological characteristics of natural enemies.Natural enemy species and biotypes may show differences with regard to their biological characteristics (e.g., developmental thresholds and rates, fecundity, behavior, host specificity, cold tolerance, etc.) and these differences may influence their effectiveness as biological control agents. Research will be conducted to develop criteria for selecting biotypes, species, and combinations of beneficial species for use against a given pest to ensure that the most suitable natural enemy species are selected for each specific augmentative release program.Implement augmentation programs and evaluate efficacy of natural enemies.The successful suppression of pest populations through augmentative releases of natural enemies is often dependent on a clear understanding of appropriate times and numbers for natural enemy release, and mitigating problems associated with pesticide disruption or cultural management approaches that might be harmful to the natural enemies involved in the augmentation. ls with conventional control methods (e.g., pesticide applications) and untreated controls to assess natural enemy efficacy and the economic feasibility of such releases.Evaluate the environmental and economic impacts of biological control agents. Our charge in this objective is to carefully document benefit/cost ratios of biological control programs for insect pests. The costs of obtaining, processing, propagating, releasing, and evaluating biological control agents will be obtained from the respective project records. Using treatment thresholds, the cost of chemical treatment or other control tactics will be determined by querying pest control operators, growers, or by determining the cost of materials, labor, and operation of the application equipment. Using the production values associated with the current land use, the economic and environmental benefits of biological control will be determined. The economic value of conservation and/or augmentation of natural enemies will be assessed along with the long- term costs of using the natural enemies. These costs will be compared with the economic inputs of alternative conventional control methods, or total absence of controls.?Develop and implement outreach activities for biological control programs. This objective seeks to encourage greater development of outreach programs among our participants as well as to document current outreach efforts that have not been easy to report under our current set of objectives. Well-documented, and highly visible outreach activities include 1) publication of our research findings in international journals, and 2) an outreach website. This W-3185 website has general information about biological control, a list of the contributing members to W-3185, their contact information and individual reports, project annual reports, and links to upcoming events, jobs and funding, and other relevant information. This web site will continue to serve as a public face to the W-3185 group. Less well-documented in the past have been talks to constituent groups such as grower groups, ranchers, forest managers, and Master Gardener groups, as well as the development of educational materials about biological control programs for the public can easily be added for public consumption.