Dual strategy: “push-pull” technology and companion planting

Authors: Legaspi, Jesusa; BOLQUES, ALEJANDRO - Florida A & M University

Submitted to: University of Florida Cooperative Extension Service Institute of Food and Agriculture Science
Publication Type: Other
Publication Acceptance Date: 9/16/2021
Publication Date: N/A
Citation: N/A

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: Sweetpotato whitefly, thrips and aphids are major insect pests in vegetable crops in north Florida. The use of “push-pull” technology (or PPT) and companion planting are cultural and conservation biocontrol methods which may mitigate damage by these major insect pests. We are developing sustainable and environmentally-friendly technologies to manage these pest populations that reduce dependence on chemical insecticides by deploying plants that release volatiles that naturally repel pests (which is the "push" factor) or attract them to trap plants or products (which is the "pull" factor) and away from the commercial crops. Researchers from USDA-ARS-Center for Medical, Agricultural and Veterinary Entomology at Tallahassee, FL and Florida A&M University evaluated the “push-pull technology” in controlling insect pests in organic vegetables in a screened structure. In summer of 2019, we tested the “push” component of the PPT using potted repellent plants of citronella, garlic society and lemon grass. The “pull” component involved the use of green leaf volatiles such as leaf acetate to attract whiteflies away from the tomato crop after which they could be trapped using sticky traps. To complement the PPT, we used companion plants such as marigold and basil where the flowers serve as a food source in the form of nectar and pollen for the beneficial or the “good bugs” that in turn may reduce the numbers of insect pests. In our study, we found that the numbers of sweetpotato whiteflies, aphids and thrips were relatively low throughout the cropping season. Due to the low numbers of whiteflies, the green leaf volatile was not feasible to test. The “good bugs” were mainly the minute pirate bug and whitefly parasites. The yield from the tomato crop was found to be comparable to the yield from current standard commercial practice. Although preliminary results from our laboratory and greenhouse tests indicated that the green leaf volatile, leaf acetate, may be promising for use as the “push” factor, more studies on different concentrations will need to be conducted in high tunnels. In general, the dual strategy using PPT combined with the use of companion planting may be part of an ecologically-based pest management program to control major insect pests of organic vegetables in enclosed structures. For smallholder growers, this is a low-cost, sustainable and environmentally friendly management tool that can be included in an arsenal of pest management options against insect pests in high tunnels in the southeastern US.