Parasitoids of the cabbage seed weevil deliver high and consistent parasitism in variable landscapes: A showcase of conservation biocontrol

Research output: Contribution to journalJournal articleResearchpeer-review

Documents

  • Fulltext

    Final published version, 626 KB, PDF document

BACKGROUND: Insect pest resistance to insecticides and societal pressure to reduce pesticide load has increased oilseed rape (OSR) farmers' motivation to protect and exploit parasitoids for pest control. However, parasitoid presence and parasitism must be made visible to influence farmers' spraying decisions. Parasitism of cabbage seed weevil (CSW) (Ceutorhynchus obstrictus (Marsham)) reduces damage to OSR immediately, making them a good case for demonstrating conservation biocontrol to farmers. We assessed the occurrence and activity of CSW parasitoids in 84 OSR fields over 2 years and identified the impact of associated local landscape factors. RESULTS: Mean cabbage seed weevil infestation rates were 11% and 10% in 2020 and 2021, and parasitism rates were high in both years (75% and 74%, respectively). Temporal and spatial dynamics of OSR in the landscape surrounding the focal fields were important for both CSW and parasitoid numbers, suggesting a dilution effect for increasing OSR area since the previous year. A multimodel inference analysis showed that OSR-related factors were important predictors for both the infestation rate of CSW and the number of parasitoids. For parasitoids, protected nature areas and hedgerows were important. Parasitism rates were high and largely unaffected by landscape factors. CONCLUSION: CSW and its parasitoids respond similarly to interannual changes in the OSR resource; in addition, parasitoids benefit from uncropped areas in the surrounding landscape. The complexity of the pest and parasitoid response to landscape factors limits the prospect of designing landscapes for improved pest control by the parasitoids. Parasitoids of CSW may be present as local populations in agricultural landscapes with the potential for consistent and substantial parasitism.

Original languageEnglish
JournalPest Management Science
Volume80
Issue number5
Pages (from-to)2362-2370
Number of pages9
ISSN1526-498X
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2024

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2023 The Authors. Pest Management Science published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Society of Chemical Industry.

Special Issue: Integrated Pest Control in Oilseed Crops

    Research areas

  • cabbage seed weevil biological control, Ceutorhynchus assimilis, Ceutorhynchus obstrictus, IPM, land use, oilseed rape, parasitoids

ID: 363061480