Do parasitoid wasps deployed with entomopathogenic microorganisms perform better?

Studer, J.; Sutter, L.; Collatz, J.; Norgrove, Lindsey (24 May 2022). Do parasitoid wasps deployed with entomopathogenic microorganisms perform better? In: 73rd International Symposium on Crop Protection. Gent, Belgium. 24 May 2022.

Entomopathogenic fungi, viruses and bacteria as well as parasitoid wasps are alternatives to chemical insecticides for controlling agricultural insect pests. They may have fewer adverse environmental effects but also tend to be less effective. Many studies report the efficacy of single biocontrol agents but there are fewer studies on their impacts when deployed together. Combining a parasitoid wasp with a microorganism (entomopathogenic fungus, virus or bacterium) could cause an additive effect if wounded pests are more susceptible to microbial infestation or if parasitoids increase the infection rate by transmitting the microorganism between individuals. There might also be antagonistic effects, for example, if parasitoid wasps avoided ovipositing on diseased hosts. We conducted a systematic review to synthesize the results of previous biocontrol studies where parasitoid wasps had been combined with an entomopathogenic microorganism. We used the following search string in the topic “field” of Web of Science on 04.02.2022: (fung* OR vir* OR entomopathog* OR “vir*-based insecticid*” OR “fung*-based insecticid*” OR “biological insecticid*” OR “microbial insecticid*” OR “natural insecticid*”) AND (biocontrol or biological control) AND (*parasit* AND (biocontrol OR biological control)) AND (combin* OR interaction OR substitut* OR synergist* OR antagonist*) AND (“integrated pest control” OR “biological pest control” OR “pest biocontrol” OR “pest populations” OR pest OR “pest management” OR IPM). We obtained 408 initial hits of which 93 were excluded as they were review articles. Based on other pre-defined exclusion criteria, 263 further articles were excluded. We extracted data on pest, control agents, crop, location, study design, evolution of pest and control agent populations, crop damage and crop yield from the remaining 51 articles. These studies looked at the control of lepidopteran (47%), hemipteran (37%), dipteran (12%) and coleopteran (4%) pests. The most commonly tested microbial agents were Beauveria bassiana, Metarhizium spp., and Bacillus thuringiensis, although some studies used viruses. The most frequently tested parasitoids were Aphidius colemani, a parasitoid of aphids as well as Habrobracon hebetor and various Trichogramma spp., which attack the larvae and eggs of Lepidoptera, respectively.. The parasitoid-microorganism combination seemed to have an additive effect in many cases. However, an appropriate timing for the release of the parasitoid and the application of the microorganism is crucial for success.

Item Type:	Conference or Workshop Item (Poster)
Division/Institute:	School of Agricultural, Forest and Food Sciences HAFL School of Agricultural, Forest and Food Sciences HAFL > HAFL Hugo P. Cecchini Institute School of Agricultural, Forest and Food Sciences HAFL > Agriculture School of Agricultural, Forest and Food Sciences HAFL > Agriculture > International Agriculture and Rural Development
Name:	Studer, J.; Sutter, L.; Collatz, J. and Norgrove, Lindsey
Subjects:	Q Science > QL Zoology S Agriculture > SB Plant culture
Language:	English
Submitter:	Lindsey Norgrove
Date Deposited:	12 Oct 2022 09:12
Last Modified:	12 Oct 2022 09:12
URI:	https://arbor.bfh.ch/id/eprint/17760