ARI REVIEW FOR 2016-2017

Potential use of current natural enemies against invasive insect and mite species Several insect and mite species have invaded Europe and Israel, causing significant yield losses of agricultural crops of greenhouse and outdoor cultivation and significantly increasing the costs of their management. Invasive species can become a serious problem in the absence of natural enemies, especially during their establishment period on a crop. Especially in greenhouses where natural enemies are absent, insect and mite species can move into the crops and rapidly increase in numbers. Within the greenhouse, good scouting and monitoring is required by examining a number of plants throughout the season, at least twice a week. A thorough examination of few plants in different positions for feeding damage signs or insect excrements or the pest itself is required. This work was supported by COST Action FA1105 - Towards a sustainable and productive EU organic greenhouse horticulture. ( V. Vassiliou ) How to integrate biopesticides in organic greenhouse growing systems Biological pest control is usually based on releases of biological control agents, especially in greenhouse growing systems. However, pesticide use is often inevitable for pest control, when pest propagation is too early and too fast, climate conditions are not in favour of beneficial organisms, or suitable beneficials are lacking. Additionally, disease control is still dominated by using fungicides. Many pesticides, even those on a natural basis, have negative effects on natural enemies. Mitigation of undesired side-effects can be achieved by selecting compatible pesticides. A careful assessment of the overall side-effects (including sub-lethal effects) is essential to develop truly selective pesticides for their inclusion in organic greenhouse crops. This work was supported by COST Action FA1105 - Towards a sustainable and productive EU organic greenhouse horticulture. ( V. Vassiliou ) 50 Plant Protection