Potato pests versus parasitoids

Liriomyza huidobrensis and the potato ladybird are destructive pests of potatoes, but can be controlled through parasitoids, says Bill Kerr.

- Bill Kerr

Tunnels formed by the pea leaf miner (Liriomyza huidobrensis), which damages potatoes, lettuce, spinach and peas. Fortunately, this pest is predated by a number of parasitoids.

A destructive pest for some farmers is the pea leaf miner (Liriomyza huidobrensis). It has a wide host range and a short life cycle. There are a number of minute parasitic wasps (parasitoids) that can keep this pest under control. Unfortunately, not all people are aware of this, thus farmers almost always resort to spraying pesticides. This can be problematic if resistance to these pesticides increases in the pest population. Pesticides can also kill off beneficial insects, thus increasing the farmer's reliance on chemicals.

These parasitoids are able to breed faster than the leaf miner and provide complete control. Because the pest has many hosts, the parasitoids will be present everywhere and will start to get busy as soon as the leaf miner starts to attack a crop.

A BALANCING ACT