Original paper

Interactions between integrated pest management, pollinator introduction, and landscape context on avocado Persea americana productivity

Toukem, Nadia K.; Mohamed, Samira A.; Yusuf, Abdullahi A.; Lattorff, H. Michael G.; Copeland, Robert S.; Dubois, Thomas

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Entomologia Generalis Volume 42 Number 4 (2022), p. 579 - 587

published: Jul 11, 2022
published online: Feb 4, 2022
manuscript accepted: Nov 6, 2021
final revised version received: Oct 1, 2021
manuscript revision requested: Sep 11, 2021
manuscript received: May 13, 2021

DOI: 10.1127/entomologia/2022/1365

BibTeX file

ArtNo. ESP146004204009, Price: 29.00 €

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Abstract

Pest management and insect pollination are important services that support crop production but are most often studied in isolation in cropping systems. Avocado Persea americana Mill. is an economically important crop in East Africa, which suffers from pest threats and potential drawbacks of the global pollinator crisis. The integration of pest and pollinator management is a growing research trend as a potential solution for sustainable crop production with minimum adverse effects on the environment and biodiversity. This study assessed potential interactions between landscape context, honeybee Apis mellifera L. introduction and integrated pest management (IPM) on avocado pests Bactrocera dorsalis (Hendel) and Thaumatotibia leucotreta (Meyrick), pollinators, and productivity in Kenya. Results showed an interaction between honeybee introduction and IPM on A. mellifera, with the highest mean abundance on the farms with both honeybee colonies and IPM. The abundance and diversity of non-Apis flower visitors were not affected by IPM and honeybee introduction across the landscapes. Pollinator introduction and IPM implementation resulted in a 941% fruit set increase and up to 97% fruit abscission within the high vegetation productivity class. Pest abundance significantly decreased on the farms with IPM, resulting in a 6% increase of final fruit weight compared with the farms without IPM. Overall, integration of pest and pollinator management did not synergistically increase the final avocado yield but represented a potential strategy to reduce pest densities while preserving wild visitors and benefiting from secondary products of honeybee colonies.

Keywords


Apis mellifera
• honeybee • pollination •
K-means algorithm • smallholder • Tephritidae • Tortricidae