Author
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Brown, Mark |
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Submitted to: Pest Technology
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal Publication Acceptance Date: 4/14/2008 Publication Date: N/A Citation: N/A Interpretive Summary: Sustainable agriculture is a critical goal in addressing the nation’s and the world’s future food needs. Biological control of insect pests, relying on insects and mites to control pest insects and mites, is one of the most sustainable methods of pest control that can contribute to overall sustainability of agriculture. This paper presents a summary of the research that has been done on conservation biological control of insect pests in apple production and synthesizes the information into an approach that will contribute to the development of overall sustainable apple production systems. Apple pest control specialists, production managers and sustainable agriculture researchers will use this information in pursuing their own work. Technical Abstract: Biocontrol of insect pests is a cornerstone to sustainable production of apples and other crops. The ecology of orchards lends itself to the application of many management options which will enhance the sustainability of biocontrol. Orchards remain in place for decades, allowing for an evolution of a stable, mature community of biological control species. Management tactics such as companion plants, interplanting, windbreaks and mulches have all been shown to lead to an increase in the abundance of insect natural enemies and higher rates of biocontrol. These tactics also have limitations in their implementation in commercial orchards. More research is needed to redesign the structure of apple orchard to incorporate sustainable biocontrol methods to optimize production with sustainability. Biocontrol is an ecosystem service and as such needs to be studied holistically rather than with the more traditional reductionist science typically used in agricultural research. |
