Conservation Biological Control Using Selective Insecticides – a Valuable Tool for IPM T ⁎ Jorge B
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Biological Control 126 (2018) 53–64 Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Biological Control journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/ybcon Conservation biological control using selective insecticides – A valuable tool for IPM T ⁎ Jorge B. Torresa, , Adeney de F. Buenob a Departamento de Agronomia/Entomologia, Universidade Federal Rural de Pernambuco, Rua Dom Manoel de Medeiros s/n, Dois Irmãos, Recife, PE 52171-900, Brazil b Embrapa Soja, Caixa Postal 231, Londrina, PR 86001-970, Brazil ARTICLE INFO ABSTRACT Keywords: Conservation biological control (CBC) has widely benefited from ecological practices that enhance both the crop Nontarget and its surrounding environment. However, use of insecticides, whether biological or synthetic compounds, is Pesticide often detrimental to natural enemies. By definition toxic to insects, insecticides may cause direct mortality of Physiological selectivity natural enemies, reduce food resources (prey/host), or disrupt behavioral and biological processes. Therefore, Ecological selectivity choosing a selective insecticide or selectively applying are important decisions for conserving natural enemies if Soybean insecticide is required. In situations where both insecticide and natural enemy do not share the same target pest, Cotton an additive outcome is expected and CBC can minimize pest outbreaks and resurgence. Given that new, selective insecticides are usually more expensive than older ones, using the former typically adds cost per treated area. Therefore, choosing a selective insecticide becomes a matter of benefits and costs, considering the cost compared to other available treatments and potential pest problems. Beyond the differential toxicity of selective in- secticides to natural enemy and target pest species, some human decisions may produce insecticide selectivity, including application of minimal effective rates, and spatiotemporal separation of nonselective insecticides and natural enemies. These concepts are discussed here using two major crop commodities in Brazil: soybean and cotton. We show that natural enemies and selective insecticides can be effectively combined to manage ar- thropod pest populations even in agroecosystems highly dependent on chemical control. 1. Introduction these ecological- and conventional-based production systems. Humans cannot set a border for arthropod pest control, neither can growers use Insecticide use in agricultural systems has been the focus of much a single management tool such as insecticides or BC against pest pro- concern for decades. However, neither chemical nor biological control blems in an unbalanced system created by single-species cropping. acting alone can adequately address problems in some multi-pest crop Arthropods are an important part of the ecosystem dynamics and do not ecosystems or against some highly damaging pest species, in highly distinguish ecological-managed areas from those chemically treated. profitable crops, and pests difficult to control (e.g. endophytic fruit Arthropods seek food, shelter, and proper physical conditions that damage, virus vectors, etc.). It is widely accepted that the best option match their needs for survival and reproduction to perpetuate. for dealing with arthropod pests is a combination of control methods, To fulfill the increasing human and to improve our ability to pro- which is termed integrated pest management (IPM). IPM is a broad- duce quality food and be less aggressive to the environment, we must based, ecosystem-centered strategy that focuses on suppressing pest look for a more sustainable agricultural production system than only a populations by combining various techniques, such as biological control “spray to kill” approach. In this tug-of-war between food production (BC), habitat manipulation, modified cultural practices, resistant vari- and environmental conservation, IPM tries to minimize the environ- eties, and pesticides, which tend to be reduced in well-established IPM mental impact of pesticides used in food production. To obtain success programs. with a quality high yield variety, in a profitable manner, and at a large On a continuum from an ecologically based agriculture to a com- enough scale to attend human demands, both BC and pesticides, as well pletely insecticide-based agricultural system, we must create compa- as any other pest management tools available need to be considered. tible ways for using both BC and insecticides. The problem is that Among all pest control methods within an IPM, biological control human designed goods production are not able to put a border between stands as the most self-sustaining method (Huffaker and Dahlsten, ⁎ Corresponding author. E-mail address: [email protected] (J.B. Torres). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocontrol.2018.07.012 Received 13 April 2018; Received in revised form 23 July 2018; Accepted 26 July 2018 Available online 27 July 2018 1049-9644/ © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. J.B. Torres, A.d.F. Bueno Biological Control 126 (2018) 53–64 Burrack, 2016; Vasileiadis et al., 2017). Economic benefits for the environment and pest control are not easy to assess (Higley and Wintersenn, 1992; Pedigo and Higley, 1992), al- though some methodologies and considerations have been put forward lately for CBC specifically (Naranjo et al., 2015; Begg et al., 2017). It is best to consider incorporation of the natural enemy activity into the ET calculation (Ostlie and Pedigo, 1987; Brown, 1997; Hallett et al., 2014). After these influential methods, several studies have tried to produce sampling systems considering the densities of natural enemies or their activity in deciding thresholds (see references in Naranjo et al., 2015). However, insecticide choice for a multi-species situation likely will rely on broad-spectrum insecticide (hereafter nonselective). In fact, among all CBC practices, in conventional agricultural production systems, after exerting all other control tactics before the pest-species reaches den- sities or causes damage equivalent to the ET, the last option of CBC recommends selective insecticides or application methods to achieve ecological selectivity. Therefore, the CBC using selective insecticides presents some unique aspects: (1) CBC through selective insecticides is a scientifically supported de- cision based on studies elucidating interactions of insecticides and natural enemies, mostly insecticide and species-specific interaction; (2) CBC through selective insecticides is a management decision; it is strongly related to the adoption of ET and insecticide selection; (3) CBC through selective insecticides is an economic decision, given that selective insecticides may be more expensive than nonselective Fig. 1. Selectivity concept regarding the specificity of the insecticide and IPM ones; decision (monetary decision). Selectivity beyond specificity depends on human decision within integrated pest management (IPM) to select and utilize the (4) CBC using selective insecticides may be achieved by insecticide fi insecticide with the objective of conservation biological control (CBC). speci city (physiological selectivity) or selective application (eco- logical selectivity); (5) CBC through selective insecticides should provide superior agri- 1999), though with some reservations depending on how it is applied. cultural and environmental revenue; For instance, augmentative BC with repeated releases represents only (6) CBC through selective insecticides can be applied to IPM programs temporary suppression of pest outbreaks, and few programs reach and generate benefits to agricultural production systems. permanent control. Whenever arthropod pest populations reach a stable level below the economic threshold, regardless of using BC or another 2. Key concepts and setting the borders control method, the desired sustainability in the agroecosystem is achievable. Therefore, conservation of established BC agents for pest Pesticides refer to “any substance, or mixture of substances of che- population should be a major IPM goal. However, within the pest mical (either natural or synthetic) or biological ingredients intended for control continuum assembling the available methods, insecticides and repelling, destroying, or controlling any pest or regulating plant growth natural enemies are seen as the lowest and upper extremes because of (FAO, 2014)”. In agriculture, the most commonly applied pesticides are their potential incompatibility, i.e., insecticides are synthesized for herbicides, insecticides, and fungicides (Carvalho, 2017), followed by strict purpose of controlling insects (Fig. 1). For this reason, chemical miticides, nematicides, and others, which target different groups of pest and biological controls are quite often in conflict. organisms. From a broad perspective, all pesticides may interact an- There is overall agreement that a complete dependence on an in- tagonistically with natural enemies affecting them directly or in- secticide based-production system is not sustainable. As Michaud directly. Therefore, the overall comments in the present text will be (2018) observed, “Modern, industrial-scale agricultural practices are limited to natural enemies of insects (i.e., predators and parasitoids) the primary selective forces driving the evolution of our pest problems”. and insecticides, considering their essential connection in cropping Many plant breeders, agronomists, growers, and plant protection con- fields in suppressing pest populations. sultants are aware of this problem, but market forces demand the best Selectivity