The team worked with two specific biocontrol agents – Orius insidiosus and Dicyphus hesperus, both insects eat harmful crop pests and are native to North America. Roselyne Labbé, Research Scientist, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada In addition, growers can now provide resources for beneficial organisms that won’t cause additional problems for the crop.” “You wouldn’t get a pet and not feed it, so why would we do that for our biocontrol agents? You have to support your organisms in some way until the natural introduction of pests occurs. Moreover, it improves how long beneficial agents remain on the crop and allows for a more preventative, rather than reactionary, approach to biocontrol. Labbé’s method for improving crop establishment involves using supplemental foods to help sustain the beneficial insects that eat the pests. Once they do their jobs however, control agents tend to disappear from crops because their food (the pest) source is gone. Typically, producers invest a significant amount of their crop production costs towards purchasing and applying biological control agents to fight pests.
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Labbé and her team at the Harrow Research and Development Centre have developed a more sustainable method to keep crops safe from pests. Agriculture and Agri-Food standing army at the ready – that’s what is now possible for Canadian growers to help them protect their crops thanks to recent work done by Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) research scientist Roselyne Labbé.ĭr.