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Detrimental sublethal effects hamper the effective use of natural and chemical pesticides in combination with a key natural enemy of Bemisia tabaci on tomato
Author(s) -
Soares Marianne A,
Carvalho Geraldo A,
Campos Mateus R,
Passos Luis C,
Haro Marcelo M,
Lavoir AnneViolette,
Biondi Antonio,
Zappalà Lucia,
Desneux Nicolas
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
pest management science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.296
H-Index - 125
eISSN - 1526-4998
pISSN - 1526-498X
DOI - 10.1002/ps.5927
Subject(s) - biology , cyhalothrin , pest analysis , toxicology , biological pest control , pesticide , population , miridae , hemiptera , botany , agronomy , demography , sociology
Background Bemisia tabaci (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae) represents one of the greatest threats to agricultural crops. Chemical control is the primary tool used in integrated pest management (IPM) programs. However, release of the predator Nesidiocoris tenuis (Hemiptera: Miridae) on tomato plants is a highly recommended control tactic. The objective of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of a commercial borax plus citrus oil (BCO) product against B. tabaci in the presence and absence of N. tenuis . The synthetic insecticide lambda‐cyhalothrin was used as a positive control. We also evaluated the sublethal effects of BCO on the behavior and predation rate of N. tenuis . Results Our results demonstrated that BCO, alone and at its maximum recommended field rate for B. tabaci , was not effective in controlling the pest under laboratory conditions. Application of BCO simultaneous with N. tenuis release did not reduce the increase in the B. tabaci population. Effective control of B. tabaci was achieved using only N. tenuis . However, synthetic lambda‐cyhalothrin pyrethroid, used here as a control, caused high pest mortality and led to on‐site extinction of N. tenuis , which did not occur for insects exposed to BCO. Lambda‐cyhalothrin and BCO significantly affected the foraging behavior of N. tenuis , reducing the predation rate, especially following exposure to lambda‐cyhalothrin. Conclusion The insecticide lambda‐cyhalothrin achieved satisfactory results in suppressing B. tabaci , but was harmful to N. tenuis . Additionally, lambda‐cyhalothrin and BCO affected predator behavior. © 2020 Society of Chemical Industry