Book of Abstracts
11th IFOAM
Scientific Conference
11-15 August 1996
Copenhagen, Denmark

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Extra Papers

Beneficial Insects Allured from Natural Populations E9

Nicopoulou, D.

NAGREP National Agricultural Research Foundation, Olive, Fruit and Vegetable Institute of Kalamata, 24100 Greece.

In this work, photographic documentation of certain beneficial insects - some of them rare - has been the result of a serendipitous experiment where vegetable seed production, of five vegetable species was the main target, as affected by five different ornamentals planted together, all possible combinations, in a completely randomised block design in four replications, with respect to organic agriculture.

This experiment took place from early summer 1994 until late fall in Kalamata. Ornamentals like Tagetes sp (marygold), Zinnia sp, Ocynum basilicum (sweet basilicum), Capsicum annum (hot pepper) and Dianthus sp. (fragrant carnation) were co-cultured with Hibiscus esculentum (okra), Solanum melongena (egg plant), Lycopersicon esculentum (tomato), Dolichos lablab var. melanophthalmus (mungbean) and Capsicum annum (sweet round pepper). No chemicals were used during 1994 and 1995 for the succeeding crops (winter and spring) this time not in any experimental design. The summer experiment of 1994 had an effect of attracting first herbivores insects like Bemisia tabaci (white-fly) and carnivores insects or pollinators.
This polytrophic system consisted a very successful ecosystem permitting a very good fruit and subsequent seed production for most of the vegetables used.

Uncommon predators like Clitostethus arcuatus, Coccinelidae, Coleoptera or Deraeocoris sp, Deraeocorinae and Cyrtopeltis tenuis (Reuter), Miridae, Hemiptera, were identified by the Natural History Museum of London.

Photographic documentation in slides (more than 50) contain pests as adults, pronymphes, eggs and their predators in different stages like eggs, larvae and adults preying on their victims, pupae, mating, always on their host plants, vegetables or ornamentals as well as pollinators and views of the experimental field at different stages.

Whitman, D.W., (1988): Allelochemical Interactions Among Plants, Herbivores, and Their Predators. In: Barbosa, P. & Letournean, D. K. (eds.) Novel Aspects of Insect - Plant Interactions John Wiley and Sons Inc., p. 11-64.

Nicopoulou, D. (1994): Development of »Adalia decempunctata« and other species of the same family in bio-experimental fields of summer vegetables. In: Tsitsipis, S. A; Kapatos, E. T. & Koutzoubas, A. G. (eds.). Proceedings of the 4th National Entomological Meeting 14-17 October 1991, Volos, Greece, p. 291-299.