Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
Table 13.1.
Main pests and natural enemies used
in greenhouse biological control in Spain. (Source:
Belda and Cabello, 1994; Cabello and Belda,
1994; Cabello and Benítez, 1994; Rodríguez,
1994; Aparicio
et al
., 1998.)
Pest
Natural enemy
Spider mite
Phytoseiulus persimilis
Metaseiulus occidentalis
Therodiplopsis persicae
White fly
Encarsia formosa
Macrolophus caliginosus
Eretmocerus mundus
Delphastus pusillus
Verticillium lecanii
Aschersonia aleyrodis
Beauveria bassiana
Paecilomyces
fumosoroseus
Aphids
Aphidius matricariae
Aphelinus abdominalis
Aphidius colemani
Aphidoletes aphidimyza
Chrysoperla carnea
Hippodamia convergens
V. lecanii
Photo 13.2.
White flies are one of the main pests
of greenhouse vegetables.
Leaf miners
Diglyphus isaea
Dacnusa sibirica
Thrips
Amblyseius cucumeris
Orius laevigatus
Orius albidipennis
V. lecanii
Noctuids
(lepidopteran larvae)
Bacillus thuringiensis
Trichogramma evanescens
Soil insects
Steinernema feltiae
Hypoaspis miles
method of combating the problem caused by
pests and diseases. In general, fewer plants
have been developed, by classical breeding
methods, that have resistance to pests than
those that are resistant to diseases. This is pos-
sibly due to the wrong strategy being adopted,
because it could be of greater interest to develop
plants that improve the predating efficiency of
the natural enemy, at least in some cases, than
to try to obtain plants resistant to a certain pest
(Parrella, 1999). Nowadays, biotechnology
opens new possibilities of incorporating resist-
ance to pests, such as the development of
transgenic
Bt
(
Bacillus thuringiensis
) plants
(T. Cabello, 2007, personal communication).
Other means of physical control have
proved to be efficient to decrease the
Photo 13.3.
Diglyphus isaea
, parasitoid of leaf
miners (
Liriomyza
spp.).
populations of pests, such as: (i) the use of
insect-proof screens (even impregnated
with pesticides) that prevent the access of
pests through the greenhouse vents; (ii) the
use of chromatic sticky traps to attract
insects; and (iii) the use of trap-lamps or
pheromones. In some Spanish regions, such
as in Andalusia, the use of very fine screens
(10 × 20 threads cm
−2
) in the vents is com-
pulsory, as long as proper ventilation is not
