IPRABIO

Integrating new practices in programs of Biological Control against Agricultural pests

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 Obiettivo del progetto (Objective)

'Agriculture faces new challenges as a consequence of the increase of human populations, the demand of more sustainable ways of production and the increase of crop pest resistances and invasions. In this context, crop protection methods relying on the use of natural enemies (biological control) are of utmost importance. Yet, research and development in biological control suffers from structural problems limiting innovation and development of reliable and efficient new techniques. The aim of Iprabio is to promote the integration of new practices (derived from research in ecology & evolution) into programs of biocontrol against arthropod crop pests. More specifically, the project will rely on the development of international biocontrol programs in which (1) The links between researchers from several disciplines will be strengthened; (2) Complementary morphological and genetic characterization methods will be used to identify the pests infesting crops and to research and select the most adequate biocontrol agents; (3) Quality control procedures based on genetic and phenotypic characterization of insects will be implemented to optimize the rearing protocols of biocontrol agents in laboratory or commercial conditions; (4) The biotic and abiotic conditions affecting the establishment of introduced populations of biocontrol agents will be investigated. IPRABIO will support the development of these biocontrol progams by creating durable collaboration between partners working against same crop pests, but displaying different fields of expertise and using different techniques in their respective geographical area. Hence, IPRABIO will have three types of impacts: on research and development in crop protection; on the communication and exchange of ideas, methods, competences among research teams working on biocontrol worldwide; on the development of biocontrol solutions against 8 pests currently invading Europe.'

Introduzione (Teaser)

Increased pest resistance and invasive species are both major challenges facing modern agriculture. An innovative EU-funded project addressed these using the natural enemies of arthropod crop pests to combat them in a process known as biological control.

Descrizione progetto (Article)

The 'Integrating new practices in programmes of biological control against agricultural pests' (IPRABIO) project supported the integration of molecular characterisation techniques into seven biocontrol programmes. IPRABIO strengthened links between researchers and used complementary morphological and genetic characterisation methodologies to identify pests and select the most suitable biocontrol agents.

Project partners used DNA, morphology and ecology to characterise pests and their natural enemies, resulting in a number of scientific publications and the identification of a new species of mealy bug. Microsatellite genotyping was used to investigate the origin and invasion pathways of the pests Tuta absoluta and Pseudococcus viburni, which were previously unclear.

Utilisation of molecular characterisation techniques had a direct impact on the implementation of several programmes, for example the two combating Pseudococcus viburni and Planococcus ficus. Here, two non-EU regions, Egypt and South America, were surveyed and shown to be infested by pest populations that showed significant genetic divergence from the population targeted in Europe; they could even be a different species.

Project findings indicate the natural enemies collected from outside the EU may not be effective against the target population in Europe. Therefore, research was redirected to other areas where pest populations are genetically similar to those in Europe. In these programmes, the release of the biological agent was delayed to ensure safety and greater probability of success, which were the two main priorities of IPRABIO.

Quality control was carried out on the rearing of biological control agents and an investigation conducted into biotic and abiotic conditions affecting the establishment of introduced populations of biocontrol agents.

Several international collaborations were initiated, including the COLBICS project that linked IPRABIO partners with the commercial sector through the development of research and development programmes. IPRABIO also collaborated with research institutes from Chile to investigate factors affecting the success of the introduction of biological control agents.

A research proposal with the University of California into the effect of ants on the establishment of parasitoids was submitted. In addition, IPRABIO supported the training of young researchers who have gone on to become key members in the collaborative projects thanks to their contact with the molecular ecology and entomology laboratories.

IPRABIO used molecular techniques to not only identify biological material but also for quality control in order to increase the success of biological control agents during their introduction, production and release. The work conducted by project partners will help European agriculture to become more sustainable and provide a viable alternative for the control of agricultural pests.