| Biological control, using natural enemies of pests, offers the best alternative to chemical crop protection and has proven to be commercially feasible. In response to a demand for a natural enemy that is efficient at controlling whiteflies as well as thrips, two important pests of various crops worldwide, the use of the predatory mite Typhlodromips swirskii is investigated. Although this predator species can in theory be used to control both thrips and whiteflies, the use of one natural enemy for control of two pest species at the same time is not as simple as it seems. The current project aims at investigating the direct and indirect interactions between the two pest species, the natural enemy and the plant, as well as the effect of these interactions on biological control. |
