Insectary plants for improving biological control in southern United States vegetable production

The production of vegetables in South Carolina (SC) and Tennessee (TN) was estimated to be a total of 135 million from 23,000 acres in 2022 (USDA NASS 2020). Producers in the southern U.S. often rely on conventional insecticides to control aphids, whitefly, and spider mites. Due to this reliance, problems like insecticide resistance, and toxicity to natural enemies in the vegetable field have emerged. Insecticide resistance has therefore pushed farmers to use a frequent and higher concentration of insecticide that has led to an “insecticide treadmill”. Therefore, there is a need for the development of alternate pest management techniques. Habitat manipulation is the biological control in integrated pest management where the secondary plants are used to enhance the natural enemies’ population which ultimately suppresses pest pressure. Insectary plants are secondary plants that are planted around and /or within crop fields to attract, feed, shelter, and maintain a population of natural enemies. Insectary plants provide nectar, pollen, and shelter to natural enemies. The objective of the research is to document the natural enemies, herbivores, and disease diversity of six selected insectary plant species. This study will be conducted in SC and TN where selected insectary plants will be planted with main crop species: collard greens for fall production and snap beans for summer production. The results will help growers, especially small scaled farms, to adopt insectary plants that benefit the vegetable production system in the Southern U.S vegetable production system.