Flower strips adjacent to greenhouses help reduce pest populations and insecticide applications inside organic commercial greenhouses

摘要: Flower strips can play an important role in agro-ecosystems by supporting populations of pests’ natural enemies, thereby enhancing biological control. However, few studies have considered habitat for enemies around greenhouses. We conducted a two-year field experiment to (i) identify potential flowering species enemy but not pest populations; and (ii) evaluate how the presence flower adjacent greenhouses helped reduce abundance insecticide use attracting inside tested six monofloral plots placed measured predator also on eggplants as well eggplant yield All attracted more pests predators than naturally occurring weeds. Cosmos bipinnatus Borago officinalis hosted high low abundance. Conversely, Tagetes erecta Verbena x hybrida intermediate abundance, Cirsium setosum Centaurea cyanus lower abundances. Overall, both numbers were higher at density. Pest was reduced 43% compared with control greenhouses, while 20 times higher, 34%, yields remained unchanged. are therefore promising, economically viable strategy enhance use, mixtures should be further diversity community.