ABSTRACT
The use of insects in integrated weed management Sandrine Petit and David A. Bohan, UMR Agroécologie, AgroSup Dijon, INRA, Université de Bourgogne Franche-Comté, France
1 Introduction
2 Deciphering complex interactions with generalist predator communities
3 Managing fields and landscapes to enhance weed seed predation
4 Extent of regulation
5 Case study: the UK national survey farm-scale evaluation
6 Conclusion
7 Future trends
8 Acknowledgements
9 Where to look for further information
10 References
Many types of herbivorous insects feed on arable weeds, among which are leaf-and stem eaters, stem gallers, stem and root collar miners, capitula miners and seed feeders. The use of insects as biocontrol agents has mostly been investigated with a view of targeting exotic invasive weeds, and only to a limited extent has weed biocontrol been investigated in agricultural habitats. Numerous release programmes have been launched in Australia, New Zealand and North America over the last 100 years. Their success essentially hinges on agent establishment, effectiveness of control of the target weed and the risks to nontarget plants. However, while there has been some success in controlling agricultural weeds, including control of tansy ragwort, Senecio jacobaea L., in New Zealand following the introduction of the flea beetle Longitarsus flavicornis (Suckling, 2013), the general consensus has been that these programmes have yielded highly variable results. In addition, reports of expansion of the range of plant hosts used by introduced biocontrol agents call into question the veracity of pre-release studies to evaluate the risks of an introduction for non-target organisms (Shaffner, 2001).
