Strawberry production has been moving into greenhouses. In addition to protecting the crop from extreme weather events, controlling the production environment allows growers to produce better quality fruits at faster harvest cycles, optimize water and nutrient use, and provide supplemental lighting for out-of-season production. Western flower thrips and two-spotted spider mites cause feeding damage to leaves and flowers and reduce the yield.
Biological control of these pests often includes the application of phytoseiid predatory mites and entomopathogenic fungi. A family of generalist predatory hemipteran bugs, Nabidae, are known as important generalist predators in field crops, including strawberries. Methods for the use of Nabis americoferus as a new biological control agent have been developed for Canadian greenhouses.
In the laboratory, N. americoferus was compatible with predatory mites but not with the entomopathogenic fungus Beauveria bassiana. In a greenhouse study, the addition of N. americoferus to a greenhouse strawberry biological control program based on predatory mite sachets was beneficial, potentially reducing the number of sachet applications.
Saito, T.; Buitenhuis, R. Integration of the Generalist Predator Nabis americoferus (Hemiptera: Nabidae) in a Greenhouse Strawberry Biocontrol Program with Phytoseiid Predatory Mites and the Entomopathogenic Fungus Beauveria bassiana. Insects 2024, 15, 52. https://doi.org/10.3390/insects15010052