Exploiting of semiochemical compounds combined with physical control to design an ecologically intensive production system. – ECO-PLUS

With a wealthier and more urban population of 9.1 billion by 2050, agricultural production will have to increase by 70 per cent, which is causing serious food security problems (FAO, 2009a). According to the FAO, African agriculture has the greatest growth potential (FAO, 2009b). The increase in production will come from higher yields and an expansion of farming lands. According to the FAO, African agriculture has the greatest growth potential (FAO, 2009b). Vegetable production is booming to feed the growing urban populations in the sub-Saharan regions. To increase yields, one solution is to reduce the impact of pests. Not only are insect pests highly abundant in tropical zones, but insecticide resistance and the arrival of new species brings major problems in terms of control. We shall have to produce more but also produce better. Today, farmers mostly protect their crops with synthetic insecticides, which pollute the environment and are a threat to public health. The project ECO+ proposes to design an agroecological and intensive farming system, which will make it possible to grow more, with low impacts on the environment.
The objective of this project is to contribute to understanding chemical interactions between plants and insects, which will be used as a basis for suggesting a horticultural crop protection method which is agroecological and suitable for tropical climate conditions, but also, above all, profitable to small producers. To design a viable and sustainable production system, three protection methods will be compared and combined: physical protection, conservation biological management and protection by semiochemical compounds.
This project will focus on tomato, which is the most widely grown market garden crop in the world, and on two invasive insects in Europe and Africa: Tuta absoluta and Bemisia tabaci. The host plant search and selection behavior of these insects will be studied by means of chemical ecology tools. This knowledge will help us to find attractant and repellent stimuli, in order to create a push-pull system manipulating the distribution of the insects. Conservation biological control and physical protection will complement this approach, with a view to reducing the abundance of pest populations. Biological control will be favored, by studying the chemical interactions between the auxiliary and the pest, but also between the auxiliary and the plants. Finally, the impact of use of netting on pest abundance, but also auxiliary abundance, will be studied, both untreated and treated with a semiochemical compound. To assess improvements in yield, environmental impact and feasibility of the technique, a tomato production life cycle analysis and socio-economic analysis will be conducted, comparing a traditional system with an intensive agroecological system.
By showing that environment-friendly farming can lead to equivalent or even better yields, it would be possible to change opinions and might encourage certain agricultural policies in favour of the environment.