Potential IPM options ready for implementation

Inoculative biological control

The resilience of potato agroecosystems to pest outbreaks can be increased through inoculative biological control for invasive species or to recuperate species lost through the intensive use of pesticides. For this purpose, CIP maintains and provides parasitoids to national programs: Copidosoma koehleri, Orgilus lepidus, Apanteles subandinus for potato tuber moth control and e.g., Halticoptera arduine, Chrysocharis flacilla and Phaedrotoma scabriventris for the leafminer fly.

Innovative and simple technologies to equally replace insecticide interventions

  • Plastic barriers effectively prevent infestation of migrating Andean potato weevils (Premnotrypes sp.); a technology which was recently developed in participatory research with farmers. Plastic can be purchased easily in the near-by cities and the technology is ideal to be used by farm communities. Since Andean potato weevil are the main pests in the Andean region for which farmers’ apply pesticide, this technology allows the implementation and distribution of an IPM program that can contribute to reduce pesticide applications in potato.
  • Commercial Bacillus thuringiensis subsp. kurstaki (Btk) products can be reformulated with talcum to make a cost-effective product to protect potatoes in stores (US$1.50/200 kg potato).
  • Attract-and-kill is an effective co-formulation of sexual pheromones and insecticides that gives overall good control for P. operculella and S. tangolias in both field and storage control. In fields tests in different potato agroecologies, the application of 2500 droplets (100µl) have shown >90% reduction in the male population up to 60 days post application. Damage to stored tubers has decreased by few droplets by up to 90%.
IPM
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