Suitability of Ornamental Pepper Cultivars as Banker Plants for the Establishment of Predatory Mite Amblyseius swirskii in Controlled Production

Vivek Kumar, Cindy L. McKenzie, Pasco B. Avery and Lance S. Osborne
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Vivek Kumar: Mid-Florida Research and Education Center, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, University of Florida, 2725 South Binion Road, Apopka, FL 32703, USA
Cindy L. McKenzie: United States Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Services, 2001 South Rock Road, Fort Pierce, FL 34945, USA
Pasco B. Avery: Indian River Research and Education Center, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, University of Florida, 2199 South Rock Road, Fort Pierce, FL 34945, USA
Lance S. Osborne: Mid-Florida Research and Education Center, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, University of Florida, 2725 South Binion Road, Apopka, FL 32703, USA

Sustainability, 2020, vol. 12, issue 19, 1-15

Abstract: A banker plant system is a rearing and release method for biological control agents, and in recent years has gained serious attention among plant propagators for its use in regulating common greenhouse and nursery pests. In the current study, the suitability of four ornamental pepper ( Capsicum annuum L.; Solanales: Solanaceae) banker plant candidates, Black Pearl (BP), Explosive Ember (EE), Masquerade (MA), Red Missile (RM), and a commercial pepper cultivar, Blitz (BL), were evaluated with three main objectives: (1) to assess host preference of three major arthropod pests of agricultural importance, Bemisia tabaci Gennadius, Polyphagotarsonemus latus Banks, and Frankliniella occidentalis Pergande among selected pepper cultivars; (2) to determine the susceptibility of plant cultivars to three different pests; and (3) to assess the effect of tuft domatia on the abundance of the predatory mite Amblyseius swirskii Athias–Henriot. In choice and no-choice assays, BL and BP were highly susceptible to P. latus with a moderately high damage rating index of >3.5/5; B. tabaci and F. occidentalis were abundant on BL and EE. A positive correlation was observed between the number of tuft domatia and the A. swirskii count. Although all ornamental pepper cultivars exhibited varying degrees of susceptibility to different arthropod pests, if used strategically, cultivars MA and RM can be used to develop a banker plant system and help reduce multiple pests in greenhouses or interiorscapes.

Keywords: biological control; IPM; horticultural pest; Bemisia tabaci; Frankliniella occidentalis; Polyphagotarsonemus latus; phytoseiid; host susceptibility (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
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