project - EIP-AGRI Operational Group
Integrating preventive strategies and biological control to combat the brown marmorated stink bug - Vindicta
Kontext
Alongside positive economic-social and cultural effects, globalization also has negative consequences including the introduction of new alien species. This phenomenon is among the major risk factors for human health, the environment and agriculture. A recent example of a biological invasion is that of the brown marmorated stink bug, H. halys, from East Asia. Out of its natural habitat, it has become the key phytophagous in numerous agro-ecosystems causing significant economic, environmental and social damages. According to CSO Italy and Coldiretti data, the damages by H. halys in 2019 affected approx 48K Italian companies with a loss of over 588M euros in Northern Italy, of which almost half in ER. H. halys can infest over 300 cultivated and spontaneous species while maintaining a high reproductive potential. The means of control used so far, including insecticides, mass-catching systems and physical barriers (nets), have shown limited efficacy.In Asia, H. halys is attacked by the egg parasitoids T. japonicus, identified as the most effective biocontroller, with parasitism levels ranging from 50 to 90%. T. japonicus, or samurai wasp, is a non-aggressive hymenoptera of less than a millimeter in size. Recently, its presence has also been reported in Italy. Also the presence of native antagonists of H. halys was reported in IT, which so far have shown a very low level of efficiency. Since T. japonicus is an alien species, it was necessary to establish whether it constituted a risk for the environment, ecological balance or for useful native insects. On 31/3/2020, the implementing decree of the Presidential Decree 102/2019 was approved, which allows the use of the non-native antagonist.
Objectives
H. halys, a phytophagous pest originating in East Asia, is causing significant economic damage to crops such as apple, pear, peach, soybean and corn, and environmental and social damages. The control means tested so far have shown limited efficacy and application problems. The spread of T. japonicus, a parasitoid native to the areas of origin of H. halys, seems to be a way to restore an acceptable balance. The aim of the project is to identify effective strategies for the containment of the stink bug, to broaden the knowledge of the insect and its ecological dynamics and to systematise the information collected to formulate possible scenarios/predictive models on its management in Emilia Romagna, IT.
Activities
The project will implement a management plan to combat the brown marmorated stink bug. The plan will include: conventional monitoring actions integrated with new electronic and IT applications and new capture systems based on the integration of the aggregation pheromone with vibrational signals (Work Package 2); biological control actions (launches of the exotic antagonist T. japonicus) (Work Packages 1 and 4); interventions related to the enhancement of agrobiodiversity practices (Work Package 3); forecasting models (Work Package 3); and coaching and dissemination activities for farmers and citizens.
Additional information
The project includes a work package (WP) for coaching activities under Measure 2 of the RDP of Emilia Romagna, IT. This WP is aimed at transfering practical knowledge on the monitoring and containment of the brown marmorated stink bug to participating farmers.
Project details
- Main funding source
- Rural development 2014-2020 for Operational Groups
- Rural Development Programme
- 2014IT06RDRP003 Italy - Rural Development Programme (Regional) - Emilia-Romagna
Ort
- Main geographical location
- Parma
EUR 327117.56
Total budget
Total contributions from EAFRD, national co-financing, additional national financing and other financing.
Ressourcen
Links
Audiovisual materials
- Fresh Plaza article 1Open link in new window
- Fresh Plaza article 2Open link in new window
- Fresh Plaza article 3Open link in new window
- Vindicta - Effective strategies for the containment of the brown marmorated sti…Open link in new window
- What creatures are there in my agroforestry hedge?Open link in new window
- A draft of a parasitoid dispersal model applied in agroforestryOpen link in new window
5 Practice Abstracts
On the economic front, it was difficult to carry out an accurate economic analysis due to the extreme diversity in size, species cultivated, organization and sales channels of the companies. Bedbug infestations also do not have a constant trend and this creates additional difficulties in specifying the costs associated with them. The analysis carried out has however been able to show that the actions of counter-bug have contributed to decrease the number of interventions against parasites and also the damage. In contrast, more specialized technicians are required for monitoring and also for the more punctual use of new pesticide products. An accurate LCA analysis could give more accurate indications of the actual environmental impact of new techniques used than in the previous situation.
For each «launch» at each company site, a test tube containing 100 fertilized females of T. japonicus and 10 males was placed on the vegetation, with the geographical coordinates and environmental characteristics of the site recorded. In total, 32 launches were carried out (2 launches for 8 companies in 2021 and 2022). The observations following the launches confirmed the settlement of Trissolcus and its survival during the winter months and also in the case of drought periods, as happened in 2022, with percentages similar to those found nationally. At the moment no one is able to assess the actual impact of Trissolcus activity on Asian bedbug infestations, but both technicians and farmers agree that in the last 2-3 years the presence of bedbug has greatly decreased and with it the damage it causes. To assess the "a priori" settlement of Trissolcus, the models prepared in the project, even with the limitations already highlighted, could prove useful for individual areas where there should be more likelihood of finding it.
Among the actions that could improve the presence of parasitoids, the existence of natural areas is a favorable factor, even if hedges and groves can also host the bug: the provision of areas for spontaneous or appropriately calibrated flowering, can help to keep the parasitoids alive even in the absence/limited number of bedbugs, without burdening too much on the farm management and the loss of SAU, as could happen with the planting of real hedges.
The location of the traps was chosen in hedges or rows near the farm orchards and watercourses (a characteristic indispensable also for the survival of T. japonicus), but sufficiently far from them to avoid any plant protection measures, including drift.
Stuard company has carried out weekly surveys in all farms and traps. 3 types of traps were used, activated with Trecé pheromones:
- Cimatrap Pro (AG Bio).
- iSCOUT® electronic trap (Pessl instruments). A camera system takes pictures and the results are visible on the web or on after registration to the service.
- Multimodal pheromone and vibration trap developed by the Edmund Mach Foundation and Agroelectronics of CBC Biogard. The latter are more efficient than those traditionally used for bedbugs. In particular, their use is interesting at the beginning of the season, when bedbugs are still in limited numbers (in fact, in all farms, except for the company Ognibene (RE), the first catches have been found in FEM traps. Unfortunately, electronic traps have been shown to perform worse than the other two types of traps in terms of timeliness and ease of management. The use of traps is particularly useful to detect the presence of the bug before it enters the orchard and at the time of hatching, when they are less mobile and more sensitive to possible pest interventions.
To ensure mass production of T. japonicus, it was necessary to organize a closed-loop breeding of Asian bedbug, which produced in a constant and high ovature to be made available to female parasitoid eggs. The breeding was kept in laboratory conditions so that the summer temperature and photoperiod parameters were constantly observed, thus avoiding the entry of the insect into winter reproductive diapause. This ensured that egg production was continuous during both years of operation. Part of the eggs produced were separated and stored in a freezer at -80°C so that we always have available substrate for oviposition and parasitoid development and do not have to depend on fluctuations in the production of fresh eggs.
The contribution of wild insects, obtained through the catches guaranteed by the traps, has allowed to maintain constant and high egg production and has allowed to avoid excessive consanguinity phenomena. The breeding of T. japonicus on H. halys at FEM was organized according to the parameters decided by the national operational table coordinated by CREA Florence.
In the days preceding the releases planned in the farms of the Operational Group, and according to numbers and criteria provided by the national table, adults of the parasitoid were separated and divided by sex in order to prepare the test pieces used for the releases in the field (each consisting of 100 females and 10 males) in individual holdings.
Contacts
Project coordinator
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Azienda Agraria Sperimentale Stuard
Project coordinator
Project partners
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Arvaia Società Cooperativa
Project partner
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Azienda Agricola Innocenti Oddo
Project partner
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Azienda Agricola Magli Tonino
Project partner
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Azienda Agricola Praconi
Project partner
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Fondazione Edmund Mach
Project partner
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Open Fields srl
Project partner
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Società Agricola Bindon
Project partner
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Società Agricola F.lli Ognibene
Project partner
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Società Agricola Santerini Aldo e Annunzio
Project partner
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Azienda Agricola Toderici Lilia
Project partner