Integrated pest management in fruit farms of semi-arid Brazil: the role of semi-natural habitat

害虫综合管理(IPM)是一种在作物生产过程中可持续地管理害虫和有害生物危害的方法。在IPM中，合成农药是最后的手段，在栖息地管理战略、虫害监测和预测以及生物防治措施无效后使用。这一博士学位侧重于IPM的第一阶段--使用一般生境和生态系统管理措施来支持自然有害生物监管--有时被称为保护性生物防治。最近的证据表明，就害虫管理而言，保护农场周围的栖息地有时但并不总是符合农民的利益。在某些情况下，非农作物栖息地增加了害虫密度。在建议将栖息地保护作为抑制虫害的战略之前，需要有关当地农业环境的农业生态信息。将在巴西伯南布哥和巴伊亚的一系列葡萄和芒果农场开展实验工作，研究人员、供应商和农民与BBSRC-牛顿资助的卡丁加可持续水果养殖项目相关的现有合作伙伴关系：随着农业集约化管理生态系统服务权衡(SUFICA)。科学问题是：1)自然栖息地的面积和排列如何影响水果种植区的天敌和害虫群落？2)距离自然栖息地的距离是否像其他系统所显示的那样，对Caatinga果园的害虫调控服务产生影响？3)就作物产量和质量结果而言，SuFICA农场自然害虫调控的经济价值是什么？重点将放在一两组寄生蜂或害虫(节肢动物、鸟类或蝙蝠)的捕食者上，这取决于它们的兴趣。

Integrated pest management (IPM) is an approach to managing pests and pest damage sustainably during crop production. In IPM, synthetic pesticides are a last resort, used after habitat management strategies, pest monitoring and prediction, and biological control measures have been ineffective. This PhD focuses on the first rung of IPM - the use of general habitat and ecosystem management measures to support natural pest regulation - sometimes called conservation biological control. Recent evidence shows that conserving habitat around farms is sometimes, but not always in farmers' interests, as far as pest management is concerned. In some contexts, non-crop habitat increases pest densities. Agro-ecological information about a local farming context is needed before habitat conservation can be recommended as a pest-suppression strategy. Work will be on an experimental array of grape and mango farms in Pernambuco and Bahia, Brazil, within an established partnership of researchers, suppliers and farmers associated with the BBSRC-Newton funded project Sustainable Fruit farming In the CAatinga: managing ecosystem service trade-offs as agriculture intensifies (SUFICA). The scientific questions are: 1) How does the area and arrangement of natural habitat influence the communities of natural enemies and pests in fruit-growing areas? 2) Is there an effect of distance to natural habitat on the pest regulation service in the caatinga fruit farms, as has been shown in other systems? 3) What is the economic value of natural pest regulation in the SUFICA farms, in terms of crop yield and quality outcomes? The focus will be on one or two groups of parasitoids or predators of pests (arthropods, birds or bats), depending on their interest.