Harnessing biodiversity for sustainable pest management

Harnessing biodiversity
for sustainable pest management

Manuele Tamò
insect ecologist

Contract Review Seminar, October 13, 2009
International Institute of Tropical Agriculture – Institut international d‟agriculture tropicale – www.iita.org

Cowpea, Vigna unguiculata Walpers

Major source of proteins
for balanced diet with
starchy staples

Dual purpose: food-feed

But: substantial losses due
to pests and diseases


Strategic vision for cowpea IPM (5-10 years)

Preventive side:
• Host plant resistance (incl. transgenics)
• Conservation biological control
Curative side:
• Inoculative and augmentative biological control
• Bio-pesticides
• Synthetic insecticides


The legume pod borer, Maruca vitrata


Ecology studies
Major alternative host plants in moist savannas of West Africa

Pterocarpus santalinoides Lonchocarpus cyanescens Lonchocarpus sericeus
Tephrosia candida

Abundance of larvae of M. vitrata on selected host plants in Southern Benin

L. sericeus
60
P. santalinoides
50 T. platycarpa

40

30
Larvae of M. vitrata

20

10

0
Oct Dec Feb Apr Jun Aug Oct


cumulative eggs/larvae per plant Mean cumulative catch per site
28 28
-A -A

0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
0
5
10
15
20
25

pr pr
5- 5-
M M
ay ay
12 12
-M -M
ay ay
19 19
-M -M
ay ay
26 26
-M -M
ay ay

2- 2-
Ju Ju
n n
9- 9-
Ju Ju
n n
16 16
-J -J
u n u n
23 23
-J -J
u n u n
30 30
-J
u n
-J
u n
7- 7-
Ju
l Ju
l
Within Pods

14
Males

-J 14
u
Within Flowers

-J
l u
Females

l
21
-J 21
u l
-J
u l
28
-J 28
u l
-J
u l
Pheromone traps as monitoring tools


Population „migration‟ of M. vitrata based on available
data from light traps and host plant surveys: implication
for control strategies


Biodiversity studies

Natural enemies of Maruca vitrata in West Africa

1 mm

Egg parasitoids
Trichogrammatoidea eldanae


Natural enemies of Maruca vitrata in West Africa

Braunsia kriegeri

Phanerotoma leucobasis


Maruca vitrata larval parasitism rates on different host plants in Benin

50
Phanerotoma leucobasis
40
Braunsia kriegeri

30

20

10

0
Lc Ls Ps Pp Tp Vu

Lc: Lonchocarpus cyanescens Pp: Pueraria phaseoloides
Ls: Lonchocarpus sericeus Tp: Tephrosia plathycarpa
Ps: Pterocarpus santalinoides Vu: Vigna unguiculata (cowpea)


What‟s the origin of M. vitrata and why do we bother?

Source: CABI Crop Protection Compendium


Biodiversity studies at AVRDC, Taiwan

Apanteles taragamae Dolichogenidea sp.

Triclistus sp. Trichomma sp.


Apanteles taragamae Viereck (Hymenoptera, Braconidae)
Biological and ecological studies

12 0.7

10 0.6

0.5
8
0.4
mx

lx
6
0.3
4
0.2

2 0.1

0 0
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14

days


Experimental releases

…but no direct evidence
of establishment yet


Biodiversity of
entomopathogenic
organisms
Several fungal pathogens
identified, none of practical
interest
Incidence of infection of M.
vitrata cypovirus (MvCPV) from
<10% to 100% (6% severely
infected)


A serial killer: Maruca vitrata Nuclear
Polyhedrosis Virus (MaviMNPV)


MaviNPV: lab studies at AVRDC

120

a
100 a
a a

80 a
Mortality (%)

60 b b b
ab b
b
b
b bc
40 a
bc

a aa a b abab
ab
20 aa a a c
a b
a c c
a
0
1 2 3 4 5 6
Days after treatment

Check 100 PIBs/ml 500 PIBs/ml 1000 PIBs/ml 2500 PIBs/ml 5000 PIBs/ml


MaviNPV: lab studies at IITA with Benin
populations of M. vitrata

100%
Control
2.053x10º
80% 2.053x10¹
2.053x10²
mortality

60% 2.053x10³
2.053x104
40% 2.053x10^5

20%

0%
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

days after application


MaviNPV: caged field studies at IITA-Benin

treatement % mortality
(OB/ha)

0.1000 9,12 c

2.1009 24,43 bc

2.1010 35,55 bc

2.1011 56,25 ab

2.1012 75,00 a

2.1013 87,92 a


A. taragamae and MaviMNPV flying together !

+ = !!!!!


Presence of MaviMNPV OB in larvae of Maruca vitrata as a
function of different contamination methods using 2h and 24h virus
exposure time.
Exposure time
Treatmentstr
2h 24 h
Control 0b 0b
Ovipositor 0,91 a 0,96 a
Whole body 0,94 a 0,97 a
Diet 0,90 a 0,98 a
P>F <0,0001*** <0,0001***

Another important discovery: at temperatures <25 C co-infected
larvae will be killed by the virus before parasitoids can form a cocoon


Strategy for deploying biocontrol agents:
Exotic parasitoids:
• overall reduction of the population pressure,
particularly on wild host plants during the off-
season
MvNPV:
• to be used like a biopesticide for inundative
biological control e.g. once pheromone derived
threshold is reached


Insect resistant cowpea – conventional breeding

• no reliable sources of resistance in crossable species
• wide crosses unsuccessful
• use of susceptible varieties possible with chemical control

2 spray No spray

Variety Grain Fodder Grain Fodder
(kg/ha) (kg/ha) (kg/ha) (kg/ha)

IT90K-277-2 2697 2219 549 3236

IT95K-231-1 2235 2619 312 3043

IT95K-193-12 2020 1513 496 1462

Dan lla (Local) 1407 3050 14 3677


Table 2
Performance of cowpea Breeding Lines in Ibadan During the Second Season
(September to November) of 1998
______________________________________________________
Spray No Spray
_______________________

Cowpea Line Total seed Good seed Total seed Good seed IP
yield (kg/ha) yield (kg/ha) yield (kg/ha) yield
(kg/ha)
___________________________________________________________
IT95M-268-1-4 1530.7 1377.4 1479.5 1350.8 2
IT95M-305-1 1479.5 1313.6 1328.6 1190.2 2
IT95M-190-4 1539.1 1348.2 1303.2 1123.6 2
IT95M-7 1567.0 1520.7 1256.1 1192.7 3
IT95M-190-1 1349.0 1233.6 1192.7 980.2 2
IT95M-309-1 1490.3 1450.3 1177.3 1091.5 2
IT95M-249-1 1502.8 1425.7 1127.7 935.6 2
TVU14476 (CK) 1207.3 1120.2 994.8 915.6 3
IT86D-715 (CK) 1034.4 876.8 673.1 574.3 2
IT86D-719 (CK) 1012.3 821.4 614.3 457.6 2
LSD 5% 310.4 303.3 380.8 355.2
CV % 16.1 17.1 24.1 25.1 1
__________________________________________________________
*IPE = Pod evaluation index


The Bt-protein is found in most green
organs of transgenic cowpea

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
75 Kd

50 Kd
*
Cry 1Ab
37 Kd

Pet YL OL SEP PET Poll Pod Imm Mat
Seed Seed

Courtesy: T.J. Higgins, CSIRO *LSU

Bt-mediated effect on M. vitrata parasitoids

- using different doses of Cry1Ab
toxin on Phanerotoma leucobasis

- Parasitoid egg inserted in M.
vitrata egg, but development of
parasitoid larva only in late 1-st
instar
- substantial mortality of developing
parasitoids only when exposed to
LD95


Prospective NTO studies on M. vitrata natural enemies

Other parasitoids to be studied:
-Trichogrammatoidea eldanae (egg, local)
- Braunsia kriegeri (larva, local)
- Pristomerus sp. (larva, local)
- Bracon sp. (larva, local)
- Dolichogenidea sp. (larva, local)
- Testudobracon sp. (larva, local)
- Apanteles taragamae (larva, exotic)
- Bassus aper (larva, exotic)
- Nemorilla maculosa (larva, exotic)


Prospective NTO studies on other Lepidoptera

Other Leps encountered on cowpea:
Arctiidae
Amsacta sp.
Gracillaridae
Acrocercops sp.
Lycanidae
Euchrisops malathana
Virachola antalus
Lymantriidae
Euproctis innonata
Noctuidae
Agrotis ipsilon
Helicoverpa armigera
Spodoptera littoralis
Trichoplusia limbirena
Olethreuthidae
Cydia ptychora
Pyralidae
Elasmopalpus lignosellus
Etiella zinckenella
Sylepta derogata


„IPM model‟ for Maruca vitrata

Novel BC agents

MR-cowpea Biopesticides as
tools in IRM

Alternative host
plans (BC and IRM)


Looking ahead:
Another potential biocontrol candidate from Taiwan:
Nemorilla maculosa (Diptera, Tachinidae)


A parasitoid which also attacks a recalcitrant polyphagous pest:
Helicoverpa armigera


New BMZ project: large biodiversity of M. vitrata
natural enemies in Asia and maybe in South America


Pulses-CRSP project: M. vitrata rearing for national
programs and farmer groups


What is this mess???


Rearing methodology with germinating cowpea grains is 25-30x less
expensive than standard artificial diet for the same larval output level !!!


The bean flower thrips, Megalurothrips sjostedti Trybom (Thys., Thripidae)

Photo: G. Goergen


Biodiversity studies: natural enemies of M. sjostedti

Larval parasitoid: Ceranisus menes Walker

Predator: Orius albidipennis Reuter

0.5 mm

Egg parasitoid: Megaphragma sp.


Parasitism rates of M. sjostedti larvae by C. menes on
selected host plants

V. unguiculata 31754

P. santalinoides 7590

L. sericeus 8357

L. cyanescens 5671

T. candida 8222

0 1 2 3 4 5

%


Origin and distribution

Megalurothrips sjostedti

Megalurothrips usitatus


Discovery of the thrips parasitoid Ceranisus femoratus in
Cameroon

Important parasitism rates on wild host plants

V. unguiculata 5841

C. pubescens 130

2315
T. candida
D. guineensis 1110


Dioclea guineensis


Laboratory rearing very labour intensive and expensive

2 mm


In-field mass rearing on Tephrosia candida


Megalurothrips sjostedti

Establishment of the exotic thrips parasitoid Ceranisus
femoratus 3 years after the initial releases in three
countries


Large dataset from Benin,
comparing multi-year data
before releases and 4 years
data after the releases

250

200

150

100

50

0
Lonchocarpus Lonchocarpus Pterocarpus Tephrosia Tephrosia
sericeus cyanescens santalinoides bracteolata candida

Average number of M. sjostedti larvae per inflorescence of
different host plant (blue: period 1992-95, red: period
2005-2007)


Ecological impact: up to 43% reduction of thrips population
on wild host plants
Economic impact: on-going collaboration with agro-
economists for developing ex-ante impact assessment
models

Host plant resistance

Cultivars Damage index

First season Second season

Moussa local 2.06 c 3.42 cd

Sewe 2.06 c 3.42 bc

Sanzisabinli 2.13 c 1.93 d

TVu 1509 (RC) 2.38 c 3.25 cd

IT90K-277-2 4.88 b 3.67 cd

KVx404-8-1 4.88 b 4.67 b

IT91K-180 5.06 b 5.75 a

TVx 3236 5.13 b 5.17 b

Vita7 (SC) 7.56 a 7.59a


Complementary biocontrol agents targeting the cowpea
plant: the predatory mite Amblysieus swirskii


IPM approach for flower thrips

- Host plant resistance in available germplasm
- Improved biological control:
On wild hosts: Ceranisus femoratus
On cowpea: Amblyseius swirskii
- Biopesticides:
entomopathogens
botanical extracts


Cowpea aphid, Aphis craccivora


Aphid colonies
destroyed by
Neozygites fresenii
in the Oueme valley
(Benin) during
„harmattan‟
conditions


Cowpea aphid Aphis craccivora

Impact of the entomopathogenic fungus Neozygites fresenii
Zone aphid infection
infestation rate
South <10 96%
Center >200 7%
North >500 0%


Natural enemies
biodiversity studies:
• „usual‟ predator
complex
• but no hymenopteran
parasitoids until mid-
2007


Possible new biocontrol
project?

Source: CABI Crop Protection Compendium

Mumies of the parasitoid Lysiphlebus testaceipes


On-going and futures studies:
• Interactions with entomopathogenic fungus
Neozygites fresenii
• Interactions with alternative host plants for the
cowpea aphid
• Interactions with other aphid species (e.g. Aphis
gossypii)
• novel natural enemies from Mid East


Potential for using bio-pesticides against pod
sucking bugs

Clavigralla tomentosicollis killed by
the fungus Beauveria bassiana

Investigation of aggregation
pheromones for developing “lure and
kill” approaches

PRONAF: Farmer participatory
approach for IPM

Farmer Field School model has been
modified and adapted to local conditions
within the cowpea agroecosystems in
Africa
- combined ToT/FFS within the same
season (saves one season)
- no need for validation trials for
technologies already developed on-farm
by the various national programs (saves
another season)
- ToT at country level is non-residential
(cost savings)


New technology for FFF?

Solar-powered MP3 players
- FFF can now be augmented
with messages regarding the
agricultural issues being
addressed.
- Such devices can be taken
back to the communities
where the messages can be
played repeatedly (biggest
advantage over rural radio
messages which are often
played only once)


Biological control of the millet head borer
Heilochaelus albipunctella (McKnight foundation)

Millet head borer damage

Parasitoid: Habrobracon hebetor


Parasitoid release areas

Nord

Villes

Zone de lâcher
du parasitoïde MALI NIGER

Sego Zinder
Niamey
u Maradi
Bamako
Ouagadougou
BURKINA
FASO


Full farmer-participatory biological control project

Country Villages Producers keeping release bags Release bags Evaluation Number of millet
installed (villages assessed) spikes observed

Men Women Release villages Control villages

Niger 90 470 25 1303 24 8 14400

Burkina Faso 51 235 20 690 23 5 16350

Mali 31 83 10 465 31 8 17750

Total 172 788 55 2458 78 21 48500


Burkina, 2008

Larvae killed by H. hebetor
1

0.9 Villages lâchers villages témoins
0.8

0.7

0.6

0.5

0.4

0.3
Larvae killed by others
0.2

0.1

0
Seytenga Gorgadji Dori Arbinda Seytenga Gorgadji Dori Arbinda


Prototype mass production of
trichogrammatids against millet
head borer

Trichogrammatoidea eldanae


Developing alternatives to cotton pesticides in
Benin (Dutch Embassy in Benin)

Cotton bollworm, Helicoverpa armigera


- biopesticides:
entomopathogens, neem oil
- trap plants: sunflowers,
marigolds
- conservation of locally
available natural enemies
(parasitoids, spiders etc.)
- integration of all these
options


Milieux paysans (Banikoara)

Pratiques Godou Ounet Goumonri Founougo
Nombre Rendements Nombre Rendements Nombre Rendements Nombre Rendements
moyen de H. moyen (kg/ha) moyen de H. moyen (kg/ha) moyen de H. moyen (kg/ha) moyen de H. moyen
armigera par armigera par armigera par armigera par (kg/ha)
cotonnier cotonnier cotonnier cotonnier
Huile de neem 0,090 ± 0,031 a 990 ± 248 a 0,056 ± 0,033 a 460,4 ± 99 0,967 ± 0,160 a 333 - 410,4 ± 69

Metarhizium 0,124 ± 0,034 a 1238 ± 35 a 0,061 ± 0,035 a 212,5 ± 6 1,000 ± 0,180 a 238 - 218,8 ± 38
anisopliae
Beauveria 0,071 ± 0,051 a 998 ± 43 a 0,045 ± 0,028 a 495,8 ± 84 1,096 ± 0,191 a 340 - 379 ± 65
bassiana
Conventionnel 0,200 ± 0,108 a 1154,2 ± 211 a 0,085 ± 0,037 a 517 ± 214 1,033 ± 0,165 a 538 - 556 ± 232


IPM of cashew pests (BMZ)

The (invasive?) cashew leafminer Eteoryctis syngramma (Meyrick)


New challenges in insect ecology

Apate terebrans in action

Thanks to all my collaborators
At IITA
C. Agboton, B. Datinon, D. Djegui, D. Kpindou, A. Onzo, G. Goergen, O. Coulibaly,
C. Fatokun, O. Boukar, M. Ayodele, L. Kumar
In Africa
Benin: D. Arodokoun, INRAB; P. Atachi, FSA/UAC, A. Paraiso, UP, S. Saizonou,
SPV + several NGOs
Burkina Faso: C. Dabire and M. Ba, INERA
Ghana: H. Braimah, CRI, S. Asante, SARI; M. Kofya-Boamah, PPRDS
Niger: B. Ibrahim, INRAN
Nigeria: M. Dike, ABU; F. Pitan, UAbeokuta; N. Oigiangbe, UAkure
With other centers/advanced labs
AfricaRice: F. Nwilene, A. Togola
AVRDC: R. Srinivasan
icipe: N. Maniania
NRI: M. Downham
WAU: A. van Huis, M. Dicke
UGoettingen: S. Vidal
UIllinois: B. Pittendrigh, D. Onsted
UPurdue: L. Murdoch


Thanks to our sponsors

• CGIAR core donors
• SDC
• IFAD
• Gatsby Charitable Foundation
• BMZ
• DfID
• RDA South Korea
• Pulses-CRSP
• AATF
• McKnight Foundation

…and thanks to you all for your attention !


Harnessing biodiversity for sustainable pest management

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