Role of Ants and Other Predators as Pest Control Via Extrafloral Nectary Recruitment in Agroecosystems

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Commodities

• Vegetables: cucurbits
• Additional Plants: native plants

Practices

• Crop Production: cropping systems, fallow, intercropping, pollinator habitat
• Education and Training: demonstration, workshop
• Farm Business Management: feasibility study
• Natural Resources/Environment: biodiversity, habitat enhancement, indicators
• Pest Management: biological control, cultivation, disease vectors, economic threshold, field monitoring/scouting, integrated pest management, weed ecology
• Production Systems: agroecosystems, organic agriculture
• Sustainable Communities: local and regional food systems, sustainability measures

In agriculture, the mutualisms that ants and other predatory insects share with plants that produce extrafloral nectar (EFN) is understudied¹. Extrafloral nectaries (EFNs) are structures that some plant groups produce that secrete nectar for the purpose of attracting omnivorous insects in exchange for protection from herbivores². Ants are the most important insect group involved in this interaction, but other predatory insects visit EFNs and provide protection^2–4. Conservation biocontrol is the concept of promoting habitat on farms that is attractive and hospitable to native beneficial insects, which provide essential services like pollination and pest removal. I aim to contribute to the knowledge of using EFN-producing plants as a means for conservation biocontrol in organic New England agroecosystems. Here, I outline a project designed around cucurbits using management practices common among organic farmers in Massachusetts. I will use partridge pea, an EFN-producing wildflower, as a companion plant in zucchini and cucumber plantings. I am also including buckwheat as a treatment as it is a well-studied non-EFN companion plant^5,6. I will collect insect community, plant damage, and harvest data throughout the growing season, and compare these data across blocks containing combinations of the above crops + companions. For outreach, I plan to collaborate with the Xerces Society and run on-site insect conservation workshops tailored toward local farmers. Information gained from studies like mine will build on our understanding of the plant-protecting activities that abundant omnivorous insects like ants provide, which may be a useful tool for farmers dedicated to sustainably growing food.

1. Examine the effects of EFN-producing companion plants on insect communities associated with organic squash plantings in New England.
2. Determine how EFN-producing companion plants influence the presence of pests, crop damage, and yield of cucurbit plantings.
3. Determine whether companion plants influence crops with and without their own EFNs differently.