Harnessing the aphid life cycle to reduce insecticide reliance in apple and peach orchards. A review

Aurélie Rousselin (1) , Daniele Bevacqua (1) , Marie-Helene Sauge (1) , Francoise Lescourret (1) , Mody Karsten (2) , Marie Odile Jordan (1)

1 PSH - Unité de recherche Plantes et Systèmes de Culture Horticoles
2 Ecological Networks, Biology

Apple and peach orchards are chemical intensive systems, and aphids are one of their major pests. Aphids alter fruiting and shoot development, and they can spread viruses. Decades of insecticide use have developed aphid resistance, which calls on research to provide alternatives to chemicals for pest management. Here, we review the literature to identify, for each stage of the aphid life cycle, existing alternatives based on either top-down (i.e. aphid predation or parasitism) or bottom up (i.e. increase of host plant resistance) processes. Firstly, it was found that most studies focus on top- down processes, namely on conservation biological control aiming to preserve existing populations of natural enemies: predators, parasitoids and nematodes. This is achieved by (i) providing shelters (i.e. planting hedges, weed or flower strips) or alternative preys in periods of aphid scarcity or (ii) choosing chemicals with the lowest disruptive effects. Those methods prove more efficient when used early in the season, i.e. before the exponential increase of aphid populations. Fostering the complex of natural enemies is also preferable than just supporting one single enemy. Secondly, other techniques, like (i) releasing biological control agents (entomopathogenic fungi, nematodes) or (ii) using pheromone lures to pre- vent autumnal sexual reproduction, are currently adapted

Mots clés: Apple tree; Peach tree; Aphids; Alternative methods; pest management; alternative method

Mots clés: analyse du cycle de vie; lutte contre les ravageurs; méthode alternative; puceron du pêcher; verger de pommes; pêcher; sensibilité aux agents de lutte biologique; diffusion de phéromone

Domaines: Sciences du Vivant [q-bio]

Aurélie Rousselin, Daniele Bevacqua, Marie-Helene Sauge, Francoise Lescourret, Mody Karsten, et al.. Harnessing the aphid life cycle to reduce insecticide reliance in apple and peach orchards. A review. Agronomy for Sustainable Development, 2017, 37 (38), pp.1-17. ⟨10.1007/s13593-017-0444-8⟩. ⟨hal-01608296⟩