Ecological Engineering for Pest Management: Advances in Habitat Manipulation for Arthropods

238 Pages·2004·4.74 MB·English

by  University of California, Australia, Edited by M Gurr, The University of Sydney, S D Wratten, Lincoln University, New Zealand, M A Altieri, Berkeley, USA

Ecological Engineering for Pest Management
Advances in Habitat Manipulation for Arthropods
To our partners: Donna Read, Claire Wratten and Clara I. Nicholls.
Ecological Engineering for Pest Management
Advances in Habitat Manipulation for Arthropods
Editors
Geoff M. Gurr
University of Sydney, Australia
Steve D. Wratten
National Centre for Advanced Bio-Protection Technologies,
PO Box 84, Lincoln University,
Canterbury, New Zealand
Miguel A. Altieri
University of California, Berkeley, USA
© CSIRO 2004
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and subsequent amendments, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval
system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying,
recording, duplicating or otherwise, without the prior permission of the copyright owner.
Contact CSIRO PUBLISHING for all permission requests.
National Library of Australia Cataloguing-in-Publication entry
Ecological engineering for pest management: advances in
habitat manipulation for arthropods.
Includes index.
ISBN 0 643 09022 3.
1. Ecological engineering. 2. Arthropod pests – Control.
3. Agricultural ecology. I. Gurr, G. M. (Geoff M.). II.
Wratten, Stephen D. III. Altieri, Miguel A.
628.96
Available from
CSIRO PUBLISHING
150 Oxford Street (PO Box 1139)
Collingwood VIC 3066
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Foreword
Professors Geoff Gurr, Steve Wratten and Miguel Altieri and colleagues present readers with a
thoughtful outlook and perspective in Ecological Engineering for Pest Management: Advances in
Habitat Manipulation for Arthropods. The stimulating chapters provide timely strategies
concerning pest control in crops worldwide.
There is currently a critical need for food production, as the world population is rapidly
growing. At present, the World Health Organization (WHO) reports that more than 3 billion
humans are malnourished. People are dying from shortages of calories, protein, vitamins A, B,
C, D and E, plus iron and iodine. Half of the world population is malnourished, the largest
number recorded in history. People who are malnourished are also more susceptible to a wide
array of diseases, including malaria, tuberculosis, schistosomiasis, flu, AIDS and numerous other
diseases. The WHO reports that human diseases worldwide are increasing.
In part, the number of malnourished is increasing because the world population is increas-
ing faster than the growth in the food supply. The world population now numbers more than 6.3
billion. More than a quarter-million people who need to be fed are added to the world popula-
tion each day.
Unfortunately, more than 40% of all world food production is being lost to insect pests,
plant pathogens and weeds, despite the application of more than 3 billion kilograms of pesti-
cides to crops. Insect pests destroy an estimated 15%, plant pathogens 13% and weeds 12%.
These estimated losses vary based on the ‘cosmetic’ standards that exist in each nation. For
example, many fruits and vegetables sold on the Guatemalan or Indian markets would not be
saleable in the USA or Australia. Large quantities of pesticides are applied in the USA, Australia
and other developed nations to achieve the ‘perfect-looking’ apple or cabbage.
An excessive amount of pesticide is being recommended to replace the sound habitat manip-
ulations previously employed in crop production. For example, since 1945 the amount of insec-
ticide applied to US crops has increased more than 10-fold, yet crop losses to insects nearly
doubled from 7% in 1945 to about 13% today. The reasons for the doubling of crop losses to
insects, despite the 10-fold increase in insecticide use, include the reduction of crop rotations,
the planting of some crop varieties that are more susceptible to insects, the destruction of
natural enemies, the elimination of hedgerow and shelterbelts, an increase in monocultures,
reduced crop diversity, reduction in sanitation, the practice of leaving crop residues on the
surface of the land and the use of herbicides that increase crop susceptibility to insect attack.
The authors and editors are not opposed to the judicious use of pesticides; their concern is
the neglect of various environmentally sound pest controls. The wide array of habitat manipu-
lations currently include agroforestry, biological control, crop rotations, crop diversity, flower
strips, natural enemy refuges, trap crops and other technologies. Each of these technologies, and
combinations of these pest suppression technologies, offers opportunities to reduce crop losses
to pests while at the same time reducing the use of pesticides. The authors of this book are
leaders in the development of such approaches. The various chapters present valuable, up-to-
date information on how ecological engineering approaches to pest management can be devel-
oped and applied, as well as pointing out technical and practical frontiers for future research.
The editors and authors are to be commended for producing an outstanding book that
provides many opportunities to help reduce the 40% food-crop losses to pests and increase the
food supply to the malnourished billions of the world. We in pest management owe a debt of
gratitude to the authors for this timely book on habitat manipulations for pest suppression.
David Pimentel
Cornell University, Ithaca, USA
Contents
Preface ix
Contributors x
Chapter 1 Ecological engineering, habitat manipulation and pest management 1
G.M. Gurr, S.L. Scarratt, S.D. Wratten, L. Berndt & N. Irvin
Chapter 2 Genetic engineering and ecological engineering: a clash of paradigms or
scope for synergy? 13
M.A. Altieri, G.M. Gurr & S.D. Wratten
Chapter 3. The agroecological bases of ecological engineering for pest management 33
C.I. Nicholls & M.A. Altieri
Chapter 4 The landscape context of arthropod biological control 55
M.H. Schmidt, C. Thies & T. Tscharntke
Chapter 5 Use of behavioural and life-history studies to understand the effects of
habitat manipulation 65
M.A. Jervis, J.C. Lee & G.E. Heimpel
Chapter 6 Molecular techniques and habitat manipulation approaches for parasitoid
conservation in annual cropping systems 101
F.D. Menalled, J.M. Alvarez & D.A. Landis
Chapter 7 Marking and tracking techniques for insect predators and parasitoids in
ecological engineering 117
B. Lavandero, S.D. Wratten, J. Hagler & J. Tylianakis
Chapter 8 Precision agriculture approaches in support of ecological engineering for
pest management 133
M. Coll
Chapter 9 Effects of agroforestry systems on the ecology and management of insect
pest populations 143
M.A. Altieri & C.I. Nicholls
Chapter 10 The ‘push–pull’ strategy for stemborer management: a case study in
exploiting biodiversity and chemical ecology 155
Z.R. Khan & J.A. Pickett
Chapter 11 Use of sown wildflower strips to enhance natural enemies of
agricultural pests 165
L. Pfiffner & E. Wyss
Chapter 12 Habitat manipulation for insect pest management in cotton
cropping systems 187
R.K. Mensah & R.V. Sequeira
Chapter 13 Pest management and wildlife conservation: compatible goals for
ecological engineering? 199
C. Kinross, S.D. Wratten & G.M. Gurr
Chapter 14 Ecological engineering for enhanced pest management: towards a rigorous
science 219
G.M. Gurr, S.D. Wratten & M.A. Altieri
Index 227
Preface
The future for pest management
The ecological engineering discussed in this book involves manipulating farm habitats, making
them less favourable for pests and more attractive to beneficial insects. Although they have
received far less research attention and funding, ecological approaches may be safer and more
sustainable than genetic engineering of crops. This book brings together contributions from
international workers at the forefront of the fast-moving field of habitat manipulation. Chapters
explore methodological frontiers of ecological engineering ranging from molecular approaches
to high-tech marking methods and remote sensing, as well as reviewing theoretical aspects and
how ecological engineering may interact with its controversial cousin, genetic engineering.
Examples from recent and current research, combined with liberal use of figures and tables,
illustrate the elegance and utility of ecological engineering for pest management, showing that it
is much more than so-called ‘chocolate-box ecology’, where the practices are aesthetically pleas-
ing but lacking in rigour and efficacy.
With contributions from Australia, Germany, Israel, Kenya, New Zealand, Switzerland, the
USA and the UK, this book provides comprehensive coverage of international progress towards
sustainable pest management. We are grateful to many of the contributing authors who have
acted as referees for other chapters, but are especially indebted to the following people for also
acting as referees: Pedro Barbosa (University of Maryland, USA), Robert Bugg (University of
California, USA), Paul De Barro (CSIRO Entomology, Australia), Martin Dillon (CSIRO
Entomology, Australia), Les Firbank (Lancaster Environment Centre, UK), Shelby J. Fleischer
(Penn State University, USA), David Goldney (University of Sydney, Australia), Matt Greenstone
(USDA-ARA,USA), Dieter Hochuli (University of Sydney, Australia), Robert Holt (University of
Kansas, USA), Wolfgang Nentwig (University of Bern, Switzerland), David Pimentel (Cornell
University, USA), Wilf Powell (Rothamsted Research, UK), Peter Price (Northern Arizona
University, USA), Craig Phillips (AgResearch, New Zealand) and Nancy Schellhorn (Adelaide
University, Australia). The editors thank also Maureen Mackinney and Dianne Fyfe for wordpro-
cessing support and Fiona Wylie for tireless help accessing even the most obscure references.
We hope this book will raise awareness of the value and potential of international efforts to
develop ecologically sound pest management approaches that confer ‘ecosystem service’ benefits
including conservation of wildlife. The ecological engineering approaches described here
combine in a dynamic way a knowledge of ecology, behaviour, agronomy, molecular biology
and communication in arthropods to reduce pest numbers in low-input farming – surely the
essence of a new integrated pest management approach for the 21st century.
Geoff Gurr, Orange, Australia
Steve Wratten, Lincoln, New Zealand
Miguel Altieri, Berkeley, USA
January 2004
Contributors
M.A. Altieri, University of California, Berkeley, USA
Division of Insect Biology, University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA
Email: