SLU news

Diamondback Moth is better controlled in organic cabbage cultivation

Published: 04 May 2011

Organic cabbage growers in Nicaragua have less problems with insect attacks than colleagues who use chemical pesticides against Diamondback Moth. This shows Freddy Miranda in a dissertation from SLU. The reasons seem to be that pesticides kill natural enemies, while Diamondback Moth itself has developed resistance to toxins.

- The solution to the problems of Diamondback Moth is likely to reduce use of pesticides while actively trying to benefit the natural enemies, says Freddy Miranda.

In many tropical developing countries intensive chemical control is used against Diamondback Moth, which is a severe pest on several brassicas around the world. It is not uncommon for a cabbage fields to be sprayed ten times with different preparations during the approximately nine-week growing period, without making any assessment of the actual control needs. Very often, there are no reliable studies of the effectiveness of various chemical and biological control options. Freddy Miranda from SLU has now examined the conditions to fight Diamondback Moth with chemical and biological methods in Nicaragua. His doctoral thesis can be seen as something of an eye-opener, by clearly showing how a mechanistic use of pesticides can punish itself.

MSc Freddy Miranda, Department of Ecology, SLU, will defend his thesis Biological Control of Diamondback Moth - The roles of predators, parasitoids and Insecticides.

Time:Friday, May 6, 2011, at 13:00
Location: Room L, Education Building, SLU, Ultuna, Uppsala
Opponent: Professor Trond Hofsvang, University of Environmental and biovitenskap, Ås, Norway

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