Eggplant Integrated Pest Management AN ECOLOGICAL GUIDE

__________________________________________________________________Major Natural Enemies of Eggplant Insect Pests6 MAJOR NATURAL ENEMIES OF EGGPLANT INSECTPESTSSUMMARYPredators, parasitoids and pathogens are the main groups of natural enemies that can controllarge numbers of eggplant insect pests. This is why they are called “Friends of the farmer”.Predators: are usually generalists: not specific for one insect species or stage, in fact they mayeven eat other predators or “neutrals” when there is not much food available. Examples areladybeetles, spiders, lacewings and hoverflies. Predators are often the first “line of defense”when pest insect populations build up and they follow host insect population by laying moreeggs when there are more host insects available. Predators are often effective natural enemieswhen pest populations are high. Some species such as ladybeetles and lacewings are(commercially) available for field release.Parasitoids: are usually specific for 1 insect and/or 1 stage, e.g. larval parasitoids attackingonly moth larvae. Many parasitoids of eggplant insect pests occur naturally. Others can beintroduced into the field, e.g. Trichogramma chilonis, for control of fruit and shoot borer. Properfield monitoring is essential to note parasitoid activity.Pathogens: are usually specific for 1 insect and/or 1 stage, and require specific climaticconditions (usually high humidity) to be effective. Some pathogens, e.g. Bacillus thuringiensis(Bt) and NPV are (commercially) available for field application. Nematodes such asSteinernema sp. are also increasingly available for insect control and may be useful for controlof fruit and shoot borer (Leucinodes orbonalis).Natural enemies (NEs):• Are easily killed by (broad-spectrum) pesticides.• (Indigenous) NEs can be attracted and conserved by not spraying pesticides, allowing smallnumbers of insects in the crop, planting flowering plants or a trap crop at field borders, andproviding shelter (e.g. straw bundles). Plant material carrying parasitized insects can bebrought from an area with high parasitoid populations to an area with lower parasitoid density.96Eggplant Ecological Guide