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Does a supplemental food improve the effectiveness of predatory bugs on cucumber?

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Abstract

The objectives of our research were to determine the effect of supplementary food on the dispersion of the predatory bugs Macrolophus pygmaeus (Hemiptera: Miridae), Orius laevigatus and O. majusculus (Hemiptera: Anthocoridae) when released on a pest-infested or non-infested cucumber crop and to evaluate the effectiveness of O. majusculus, released together with the addition of supplemental food, on thrips control. The addition of dry Artemia sp. cysts as supplemental food to the plant where predators were released did not influence their dispersion from the release plant. Predators dispersed to the infested plants despite the provision of supplemental food on the release patch. In addition, in a greenhouse experiment, predator populations increased quicker when supplemental food was provided, resulting in a better thrips control. Altogether, our results suggest that the addition of supplemental food in the patch where predators are released may be beneficial for pest control in greenhouse cucumber crops.

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Acknowledgments

We would like to thank Albert Mussoll, Pilar Hernández, Victor Muñoz and Francisca Oliver for their technical assistance. We also thank two anonymous reviewers and the editors for their valuable comments. This work was funded by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (MINECO AGL2010-18811 and AGL2013-49164-C2-2-R projects). M.F. Oveja was supported by an FPI Grant from MINECO (BES-2008-007336).

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  1. IRTA, Ctra. Cabrils km 2, 08348, Cabrils, Spain

    Marta F. Oveja, Jordi Riudavets, Judit Arnó & Rosa Gabarra

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  1. Marta F. Oveja
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  2. Jordi Riudavets
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  3. Judit Arnó
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  4. Rosa Gabarra
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Correspondence to Judit Arnó.

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Handling Editor: Patrick De Clercq.

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Oveja, M.F., Riudavets, J., Arnó, J. et al. Does a supplemental food improve the effectiveness of predatory bugs on cucumber?. BioControl 61, 47–56 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10526-015-9690-3

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