title: Selection of nectar plants for use in ecological engineering to promote biological control of rice pests by the predatory bug, Cyrtorhinus lividipennis, (Heteroptera: Miridae).
abstract: Ecological engineering for pest management involves the identification of optimal forms of botanical diversity to incorporate into a farming system to suppress pests, by promoting their natural enemies. Whilst this approach has been extensively researched in many temperate crop systems, much less has been done for rice. This paper reports the influence of various plant species on the performance of a key natural enemy of rice planthopper pests, the predatory mirid bug, Cyrtorhinus lividipennis. Survival of adult males and females was increased by the presence of flowering Tagetes erecta, Trida procumbens, Emilia sonchifolia (Compositae), and Sesamum indicum (Pedaliaceae) compared with water or nil controls. All flower treatments resulted in increased consumption of brown plant hopper, Nilaparvata lugens, and for female C. lividipennis, S. indicum was the most favorable. A separate study with a wider range of plant species and varying densities of prey eggs showed that S. indicum most strongly promoted predation by C. lividipennis. Reflecting this, S. indicum gave a relatively high rate of prey search and low prey handling time. On this basis, S. indicum was selected for more detailed studies to check if its potential incorporation into the farming system would not inadvertently benefit Cnaphalocrocis medinalis and Marasmia patnalis, serious Lepidoptera pests of rice. Adult longevity and fecundity of both pests was comparable for S. indicum and water treatments and significantly lower than the honey solution treatment. Findings indicate that S. indicumis well suited for use as an ecological engineering plant in the margins of rice crops. Sesame indicum can be a valuable crop as well as providing benefits to C. lividipennis whilst denying benefit to key pests.
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory Breeding Base for Zhejiang Sustainable Pest and Disease Control, Institute for Plant Protection and Microbiology, Zhejiang Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Hangzhou, China; Jinhua Plant Protection Station, Jinhua, China.
authors.forename: Pingyang
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Zhu
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory Breeding Base for Zhejiang Sustainable Pest and Disease Control, Institute for Plant Protection and Microbiology, Zhejiang Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Hangzhou, China.
authors.forename: Zhongxian
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Lu
authors.affiliation: Crop and Environmental Sciences Division, International Rice Research Institute, Metro Manila, Philippines.
authors.forename: Kongluen
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Heong
authors.affiliation: Jinhua Plant Protection Station, Jinhua, China.
authors.forename: Guihua
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory Breeding Base for Zhejiang Sustainable Pest and Disease Control, Institute for Plant Protection and Microbiology, Zhejiang Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Hangzhou, China.
authors.forename: Xusong
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Zheng
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory Breeding Base for Zhejiang Sustainable Pest and Disease Control, Institute for Plant Protection and Microbiology, Zhejiang Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Hangzhou, China.
authors.forename: Hongxing
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory Breeding Base for Zhejiang Sustainable Pest and Disease Control, Institute for Plant Protection and Microbiology, Zhejiang Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Hangzhou, China.
authors.forename: Yajun
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: School of Agriculture & Wine Sciences, Charles Sturt University, Orange, New South Wales, Australia.
authors.forename: Helen I
authors.initials: HI
authors.lastname: Nicol
authors.affiliation: Institute of Applied Ecology, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou, Fujian, China; Graham Centre for Agricultural Innovation (New South Wales Department of Primary Industries and Charles Sturt University), Orange, New South Wales, Australia.
authors.forename: Geoff M
authors.initials: GM
authors.lastname: Gurr
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D005260:Female; D005298:Fertility; D035264:Flowers; D060434:Herbivory; D020062:Heteroptera; D008136:Longevity; D008297:Male; D012275:Oryza / Q000469:parasitology*; D010572:Pest Control, Biological; D057048:Plant Nectar; D011235:Predatory Behavior
chemical_list: D057048:Plant Nectar