The Canadian Entomologist (2020) 152, 575-586

Justin M. Renkema, Andrew Frewin and Rebecca H. Hallett (2020)
Effects of interplanting peppermint (Lamiaceae) in strawberry (Rosaceae) on Drosophila suzukii (Diptera: Drosophilidae) and seed-feeding pests (Hemiptera: Lygaeidae, Miridae, Rhyparochromidae)
The Canadian Entomologist 152 (4), 575-586
Abstract: Spotted-wing drosophila (Drosophila suzukii (Matsumura) (Diptera: Drosophilidae)) is a pest of tender fruit and berry crops because female flies oviposit in ripening fruit. Frequent insecticide applications are needed for control during fruit ripening, with few noninsecticide options available. The effect of interplanting peppermint (Mentha × piperita Linnaeus (Lamiaceae)) in strawberry (Fragaria × ananassa Duchesne (Rosaceae)) on D. suzukii fruit infestation was investigated because peppermint essential oil deterred D. suzukii from fruit in the laboratory, and interplanted aromatic plants reduced crop pest populations in other field studies. Regardless of whether peppermint was untrimmed or periodically trimmed to reduce shading of strawberries and promote release of volatiles, D. suzukii infestation was consistently lowest in strawberries adjacent to no peppermint. Interplanted peppermint also reduced strawberry yield in the second year of the experiment. Abundance of Lygus lineolaris (Palisot de Beauvois) (Hemiptera: Miridae), a strawberry pest, was higher in plots with peppermint, but abundances of Ligyrocoris diffusus (Uhler) (Hemiptera: Rhyparochromidae) and Neortholomus scolopax (Say) (Hemiptera: Lygaeidae), seed feeders but not common strawberry pests, were lower in plots with peppermint. Overall, interplanted peppermint is not recommended for D. suzukii management, but other strategies for using volatile, repellent compounds in the field should be investigated.
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Link to article at publishers website
Database assignments for author(s): Justin M. Renkema, Rebecca H. Hallett

Research topic(s) for pests/diseases/weeds:
environment - cropping system/rotation

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Pest and/or beneficial records:

Beneficial	Pest/Disease/Weed	Crop/Product	Country	Quarant.
	Lygus lineolaris	Strawberry (Fragaria)
	Drosophila suzukii	Strawberry (Fragaria)