The contribution of the companion plants to the biological control of insects plagues in agroecological orchards of the city of Rosario, Santa Fe Argentina

SAN PEDRO PAULA; ALZUGARAY CLAUDIA; FERNÁNDEZ CELINA

Londrina

Simposio; XVI Simposio de Control Biológico; 2019

The companion plants (CP), implanted or spontaneous, are key in conservationbiological control of insects; these plants protect commercial crops by providing food resources: pollen, nectar, alternative hosts and preys, for the natural enemies (NE), parasitoids and predators, of harmful insects. The role of CP in 2 agroecological orchards was evaluated in Rosario, Santa Fe, Argentina. During spring-summer 2015/2016, the abundance and biological function of the NE was registered in flowers and foliage. The abundance, richness, evenness and diversity of NE between CP was compared by Kruskal Wallis test. In addition, herbivores were recorded in the most relevant crops in these orchards, observing a large abundance of aphids (Aphididae, Hemiptera). Sixteen companion plant species were sampled, grouped into 5 families: Apiaceae, Boraginaceae, Brassicaceae, Asteraceae and Lamiaceae. A total of 575 NE were registered, belonging to 26 species and morphospecies, 16 genera and 12 families. Apiaceae differed significantly from the rest of the CP and had the highest abundance, richness, evenness and diversity of NE (H = 25.81, p