Trap crop: A pest management technique

Abstract

Managing crop pests on a farm can be challenging, especially for organic growers or those who simply choose to use fewer insecticides or no chemical applications at all. Trap cropping may offer a means of reducing reliance on chemical applications for pest management, and it has been shown to have potential for the control of numerous Brassica pests and it can be difficult to tackle through the use of pesticides (due to the resistance issues described above) and responds relatively weakly to some other IPM strategies such as the use of under-sowing with non-host plants. Thus, there is a need to investigate alternative methods of management for this pest. An advantage of trap cropping over an artificially released natural enemy-based biological control could be an attractive remedy for natural enemies in cropping systems. Besides, many trap crop species can conserve natural enemies. This secondary effect of attracting natural enemies may be an advantage compared to the conventional means of pest control. However, this additional consideration requires a more knowledge-intensive background to designing an effective trap cropping system.