Ecological management of the diamondback moth (Plutella xylostella (L.)) using trap cropping strategy

In recent years, the diamondback moth (Plutella xylostella) has had some outbreaks in Iran (Afiunizadehand Karimzadeh, 2015). As a consequence of the development of insecticide resistance in P. xylostella populations and high insecticide residue on the crops, alternative, ecological and sustainable pest management strategies are urgently needed (Talekar and Shelton, 1993). Cultural control is simple, applied and compatible with other ecological methods and, hence, it can be used in integrated pest management. Trap cropping is a cultural and ecological pest management strategy that has been used increasingly in recent years (Shelton and Badenes-Perez, 2006).The present study is aimed at examining an ecological management of P. xylostella using native plants as trap crops in common cabbage.
For this purpose, an experiment with six treatments was performed in a 0.5-ha field of common cabbage located in Falavarjan (Isfahan Province, central Iran). In each 100-m2 plot, the first two rows were planted with a trap crop, including Chinese cabbage, white mustard, turnip, black radish, and a mixture of all the aforementioned trap crops. Common cabbage was considered as the control. The treatments were replicated four times in a randomized complete block design. Random sampling was performed fortnightly from transplantation to harvest on 10 plants of main crop (common cabbage) per plot looking for P. xylostella larvae and pupae, and on three plants of trap crop per plot looking for P. xylostella adults.
For this purpose, an experiment with six treatments was performed in a 0.5-ha field of common cabbage located in Falavarjan (Isfahan Province, central Iran). In each 100-m2 plot, the first two rows were planted with a trap crop, including Chinese cabbage, white mustard, turnip, black radish, and a mixture of all the aforementioned trap crops. Common cabbage was considered as the control. The treatments were replicated four times in a randomized complete block design. Random sampling was performed fortnightly from transplantation to harvest on 10 plants of main crop (common cabbage) per plot looking for P. xylostella larvae and pupae, and on three plants of trap crop per plot looking for P. xylostella adults.
Considering the great concerns over overuse of chemical insecticides, it is necessary to use the cultural procedures of pest management, such as trap cropping. Trap cropping provides a simple and applied tool, which is compatible with other ecological pest management strategies.