LWV23103 Future-proof and biocontrol-based chrysanthemum production along the international value chain (BO-69-001-012)

Project: LVVN project

Project Details

Description

Apart from the unavailability of additional food, the high (fluctuations in) greenhouse temperature and the constant harvesting of the cuttings from the mother plants may also pose a challenge for predator establishment. As a consequence, (broad-spectrum) pesticides are still being used. Moreover, when the cuttings are also infested with thrips, the biocontrol efficacy in the flower production phase in the Netherlands is even further complicated.  In addition to thrips, the control of aphids is becoming an increasing challenge in many horticultural crops in the Netherlands. This is due to a  reduction in the availability of chemical control products and a concurrent surge in aphid resistance towards remaining chemical substances. In crops like chrysanthemum and many species of potted plants, the short cultivation times and the harvest of complete plants (= low tolerance for pests) pose an extra challenge for biological aphid control. Weekly releases of Aphidoletes aphidimyza and parasitoids don’t suffice, partly due to interference by predatory mites that feed on Aphidoletes larvae and hyperparasitoids that prevent the establishment of parasitoids. Furthermore, in the flower production phase of short-day crops like chrysanthemum and kalanchoe, aphid predators that are diapause-sensitive cannot establish.

In this project

a) new strategies will be developed for the establishment of ‘standing armies’ of generalist predators in the cultivation of mother plants in East-Africa based on (new endemic) species that are tolerant to high (fluctuations) in temperature, and  

b) a ‘first line of defense’ will be developed against aphids and thrips in the rooting and flower production phases in the Netherlands based on new and existing diapause-free generalist predators that (also) feed on small aphid colonies.

StatusActive
Effective start/end date1/01/2431/03/28