Biological control of aphids in wheat and vegetable crops : a multi-approach case study in Shandong province (China)

This multi-approach study was conducted in the Shandong province (China) to assess the effectiveness of different biological control methods against aphids in wheat and vegetable crops. Three approaches were tested: (1) wheat/oilseed rape and wheat/pea associations, (2) potatoes/peas association, and (3) E-β-farnesene (aphid alarm pheromone) releasers in squashes under plastic tunnels. Aphids and aphidophagous beneficials were monitored by observations on plants. Wheat associations and E-β-farnesene reduced aphid infestations compared with control treatments, while no effect was observed in the potatoes/peas association. Moreover, aphidophagous beneficials were significantly more abundant in the three kinds of associations compared with control treatments. Few individuals were observed on squashes. Additionally, adult aphidophagous beneficials were monitored using yellow pan traps. The parasitoid species Aphidius gifuensis (Ashmead) was prevalent, while Propylea japonica (Thunberg) and Harmonia axyridis (Pallas) were the most abundant species among predators. Globally, wheat associations were more efficient to reduce aphid infestations and attract aphidophagous beneficials to promote biological control. The trapping of natural enemies allowed to assess the diversity and abundance of aphidophagous species in this region. This study shows a beneficial effect of crop associations and E-β-farnesene on the control of aphid populations and contributes to assess the potentialities of these alternative methods to the use of insecticides