Abstract
Natural enemies provide critical population regulation of many pest species, though their effects are not commonly incorporated into agricultural management decisions. Conservation biological control is an important tool that can be implemented to minimize pest damage, but applying it requires appropriate understanding of pest and natural enemy relationships. Through experimental cotton field trials, I identified predator: prey ratios based on key arthropod predators as action thresholds of the whitefly pest Bemisia tabaci MEAM1 (Dinsdale et al. 2010; equivalent to Bemisia argentifolii Bellows et al. 1994 [Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae]), validated their efficacy, and promoted them to cotton pest managers. This dissertation begins with a multi-year field trial where whitefly and natural enemy populations were manipulated with a series of insecticidal treatments to identify key arthropod predators. The critical abundance of four key predators necessary to suppress whiteflies was estimated through predator: prey ratios. These ratios were refined for commercial pest management and developed to conform to the current whitefly IPM framework as a simple to use management-decision tool that would be readily adopted and used by pest managers. Predator: prey ratios were then validated in 1) a second field trial, 2) commercial fields in Arizona and northern Mexico and 3) historical field trials conducted from 1997-2010, where whitefly management decisions made with the standard threshold and ratios, were compared with the standard threshold alone. I found no difference in management outcomes when decisions were made with the standard threshold alone, or with predator: prey ratios in the field trial, but analysis of potential decisions on commercial farms and with historical trial data indicated that the majority of sprays could be delayed if control decisions incorporated ratio-based thresholds. Finally, an outreach program was developed and deployed to present ratios as decision-making tools for cotton pest managers that reduce uncertainty in control decisions and optimize spray outcomes. Pest managers indicated positive changes in knowledge and a gradual adoption of ratios for decision-making. The implementation of whitefly control decisions that incorporate predator: prey ratios may reduce pest managers' uncertainty in decision-making, as well as insecticide use and management costs.
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Claims 7
Claim · model-written summary
Four key predators had estimated critical abundances for whitefly suppression using predator to prey ratios.
- Taxon
- Cotton
Gossypium hirsutumt0 - Interactor
- Bemisia tabaci (MEAM1)
Bemisia tabacit0pest - Outcome
- critical abundance of four key predatorse0
- Value
- foure0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
t0“Bemisia tabaci (MEAM1) in Cotton”
e0“The critical abundance of four key predators necessary to suppress whiteflies was estimated through predator: prey ratios.”
Claim · model-written summary
Predator to prey ratios were refined into a whitefly management decision tool.
- Taxon
- CottonGossypium hirsutumt0
- Interactor
- Bemisia tabaci (MEAM1)Bemisia tabacit0pest
- Outcome
- management-decision toole0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
t0“Bemisia tabaci (MEAM1) in Cotton”
e0“These ratios were refined for commercial pest management and developed to conform to the current whitefly IPM framework as a simple to use management-decision tool”
Claim · model-written summary
Field-trial outcomes did not differ between the standard threshold alone and thresholds incorporating predator to prey ratios.
- Taxon
- CottonGossypium hirsutumt0
- Treatment
- predator: prey ratiose0
- Interactor
- Bemisia tabaci (MEAM1)Bemisia tabacit0pest
- Outcome
- management outcomese0
- Direction
- no differencee0
- Comparator
- standard threshold alonee0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
t0“Bemisia tabaci (MEAM1) in Cotton”
e0“I found no difference in management outcomes when decisions were made with the standard threshold alone, or with predator: prey ratios in the field trial”
Claim · model-written summary
Commercial and historical trial analyses indicated that most sprays could be delayed by ratio-based thresholds.
- Taxon
- CottonGossypium hirsutumt0
- Treatment
- ratio-based thresholdse0
- Interactor
- Bemisia tabaci (MEAM1)Bemisia tabacit0pest
- Outcome
- sprayse0
- Direction
- delayede0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
t0“Bemisia tabaci (MEAM1) in Cotton”
e0“analysis of potential decisions on commercial farms and with historical trial data indicated that the majority of sprays could be delayed if control decisions incorporated ratio-based thresholds.”
Claim · model-written summary
Pest managers reported improved knowledge after the outreach program.
- Taxon
- CottonGossypium hirsutumt0
- Interactor
- Bemisia tabaci (MEAM1)Bemisia tabacit0pest
- Outcome
- knowledgee0
- Direction
- positive changese0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
t0“Bemisia tabaci (MEAM1) in Cotton”
e0“Pest managers indicated positive changes in knowledge and a gradual adoption of ratios for decision-making.”
Claim · model-written summary
Pest managers reported gradual adoption of predator to prey ratios.
- Taxon
- CottonGossypium hirsutumt0
- Interactor
- Bemisia tabaci (MEAM1)Bemisia tabacit0pest
- Outcome
- adoption of ratiose0
- Direction
- graduale0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
t0“Bemisia tabaci (MEAM1) in Cotton”
e0“Pest managers indicated positive changes in knowledge and a gradual adoption of ratios for decision-making.”
Claim · model-written summary
The authors suggest ratio-based decisions may reduce uncertainty, insecticide use and costs.
- Taxon
- CottonGossypium hirsutumt0
- Interactor
- Bemisia tabaci (MEAM1)Bemisia tabacit0pest
- Outcome
- pest managers' uncertainty in decision-making, as well as insecticide use and management costse0
- Direction
- reducee0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
t0“Bemisia tabaci (MEAM1) in Cotton”
e0“The implementation of whitefly control decisions that incorporate predator: prey ratios may reduce pest managers' uncertainty in decision-making, as well as insecticide use and management costs.”
The same questions in other papers
biocontrol · Bemisia tabaci · Gossypium hirsutum (cotton)Positive and negative results
1 paper in the same direction as this paper · 4 reporting no difference from an alternative
- positive
- positive
- positive
2 papers more in this group
See all 6 papers →Claims are grouped by organism, treatment and what was measured or targeted. A paper counts as positive when any of its claims in the group is positive.