The Impact of Buckwheat Plantings on Releases of Parasitoid Wasps on a Dairy Farm

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Commodities

• Animals: bovine

Practices

• Animal Production: animal protection and health, parasite control
• Education and Training: extension, mentoring, youth education
• Pest Management: disease vectors, integrated pest management

This project will assess the capacity for buckwheat to increase rates of parasitism, and hence death, of house flies, Musca domestica, on dairy facilities in Northern Illinois with the augmentative release of parasitoid wasps. The pupal stage of house flies is attacked by several species of parasitoids. These parasitoids occur naturally and are sold commercially for augmentative releases. Recently, our lab has demonstrated that the house fly parasitoid, Spalangia cameroni experiences greater longevity and nutritional gain from buckwheat, at least in the laboratory (Taylor et al., 2021). Buckwheat is an inexpensive plant and our laboratory results suggest that it may benefit control attempts. The house fly is considered the most important pest of US dairy operations, costing the industry 500 million dollars annually in economic losses (Geden et al., 2021). US dairies make up approximately 25% of the total cash receipts of a $165 billion dollar animal production industry (USDA 2020). An Integrated Pest Management (IPM) approach to the control of house flies is needed because the flies have evolved resistance to insecticides (Freeman et al., 2019), and because insecticides can adversely affect non-target species (Main et al., 2018). Project outcomes include: 1) determine the impact of supplemental buckwheat, placed near where parasitoids are released, on rates of parasitism of house fly pupae and inform our farmer collaborators on parasitoid biological control generally and results of the proposed project specifically; 2) engage with local high school agricultural classrooms on dairy IPM, and capitalize on the students’ social media savvy and connections in creating outreach materials; 3) produce an extension handout of IPM of house flies on dairy facilities and distribute it through Illinois county farm bureaus and participating county extension offices. Buckwheat can improve biological control of crop pests. Whether this success translates to livestock facilities remains to be seen and is what makes this project novel.

Buckwheat borders have increased rates of parasitism and predation by some natural enemies of crop pests (Bianchi et al., 2006). For the proposed project, buckwheat will be placed around dairy cow housing with augmentative release of parasitoid wasps, and parasitoid monitoring stations will be used to gauge rates of parasitism. Each buckwheat plot will be paired with a non-buckwheat plot for comparison. Each plot will have a release of supplemental parasitoids. Pupae from the monitoring stations will be collected and observed for parasitoid emergence to determine rates of parasitism.

This project will involve working directly with dairy producers and a local agricultural class on aspects of house fly control, including how the use of insecticides can lead to resistant populations of house flies and how to implement an IPM program (learning outcomes). From the information provided by this study farmers will be able to institute practices that support natural enemies such as parasitoid wasps (action outcome). At the end of this project farmers and agricultural students are expected to better understand: 1) how resistance to insecticides evolve, 2) impacts of insecticides on non-target arthropods, 3) what parasitoid wasps are, and 4) methods to support those natural enemies of house flies. A local agricultural class will be able to practice science communication skills. They will have the opportunity to be creative in producing educational materials, making use of their social media savvy or producing more traditional materials to garner the attention of other young people or their parents/guardians. The materials generated by the agriculture classroom will be provided to the DeKalb County Farm Bureau. These materials will then be used to create an extension handout with the insight of the next generation of agricultural workers. As a result of this project, farmers will be informed about floral resources as an option for part of their pest management strategies.