Improved and sustainable management of Bagrada hilaris (Hemiptera, Pentatomidae) mediated by non-host plants in cabbage crops

Habitat management involving manipulation of non-host plants inside and out of crops may directly affect pests through the behavior of insects. Insects use plant volatiles to locate potential plant hosts for feeding and oviposition. Consequently, some non-host plants (aromatic and ornamental) release volatiles with repellent and deterrence properties as a defense against insect attack. We hypothesized that non-host plants reduce the incidence and severity of damage of the painted bug Bagrada hilaris on cabbage crops, an important pest worldwide in brassica crops, recently recorded in Chile. To evaluate our hypothesis, a combination of six non-host plants: Coriandrum sativum, Pelargonium hortorum, Pelargonium peltatum, Pelargonium graveolens, Mentha spicata, and Thymus vulgaris sown on the row border of the crop were compared with a control (without non-host plants) in a randomized block design over two consecutive field seasons (summer and winter). The results showed that treatments with non-host plants showed a good efficiency to decrease the B. hilaris incidence on leaves and reduce significantly the severity of damage over the two seasons evaluated. In addition, the incidence and severity increased more in summer than in the winter season. Our results could be incorporated into current integrated pest management (IPM) systems, as a sustainable approach to managing B. hilaris.