Overcoming Market and Technical Obstacles to Alternative Pest Management in Arable Systems

Status: Ongoing
Type of Project: Research Report
Principal Investigator: Dr Alastair Bailey, Imperial College, London (Email)
Website

 

Objectives

Despite the widespread concerns regarding the use of pesticides in food production and considerable research into potentially viable biological pest control alternatives, pest control in UK field crops relies almost singly on chemical pesticides inputs. Reasons for this lack of adoption of alternative technologies, such as bio-control, may be technical, economic or a complex interplay of both. Economists highlight the potential ‘path dependency’ of an industry in continuing to employ a suboptimal technology, caused by past dynamics of adoption resulting in differential private cost structures of each technique. Further, risk aversion on the part of farmers regarding the perceived efficacy of a new technology and ‘jointness’ in the chemical control of a range of pests may limit up-take.

In this project we conduct innovative natural science research to evaluate an existing (i.e. habitat manipulation) and novel (i.e. semiochemical ‘push-pull’) biocontrol technology considering ecological mechanisms and impacts from lab to farm scales. We combine this technical knowledge with outputs from novel social and economic analyses of path dependency, considering factors such as private costs of adoption, consumer preference and retailer led supply chain governance. By choosing an ‘established’ and a new technology, we aim to use this programme of technical and economic research to look backward and forward in developing effective tools to evaluate and promote the adoption of biochemical control technology into the UK agricultural systems.

Towards a Green and Pleasant Land: Biocontrol in UK Agriculture
Biocontrol News March 2005, Volume 26 No. 1

Publications

Journal Articles

Bruce, T.J.A, Birkett, M.A., Blande, J., Hooper, A.M., Martin, J.L., Khambay, B., Prosser, I., Smart, L.E., and Wadhams, L.J. (2005) Response of economically important aphids to components of Hemizygia petiolata essential oil. Pest Management Science 61: 1115-1121

Beale, M.H., Birkett, M.A., Bruce, T.J.A., Chamberlain, K., Field, L.M, Huttly, A.K., Martin, J.L., Parker, R., Phillips, A.L., Pickett, J.A, Prosser, I.M., Shewry, P.R., Smart, L.E., Wadhams, L.J., Woodcock, C.M. and Zhang, Y. (2006) ‘Aphid alarm pheromone produced by transgenic plants affects aphid and parasitoid behavior’. PNAS 103: 10509-13.

Nakashima, Y., Birkett, M.A., Pye, B.J. and Powell, W. (2006) ‘Chemically-mediated intraguild predator avoidance by aphid parasitoids: inter-specific variability in sensitivity to semiochemical trails of ladybird predators’. Journal of Chemical Ecology, 32, 1989-1998.

Bruce, T.J.A. and Pickett, J.A. (2007) “Plant defence signalling induced by below- and above-ground attacks”. Current Opinion in Plant Biology 10: 387-392

Bruce, T.J.A., Hooper, A.M., Ireland, L.A., Jones, O.T., Martin, J.L., Smart, L.E., Oakley, J. and Wadhams, L.J. (2007) “Development of a pheromone trap monitoring system for orange wheat blossom midge, Sitodiplosis mosellana, in the UK”. Pest Management Science 63: 49-56.        
             
Bruce, T.J.A., Matthes, M.C., Napier, J.A. and Pickett, J.A. (2007) “Stressful “memories” of plants: evidence and possible mechanisms”. Plant Science 173: 603-608

Cook, S.M., Khan, Z. and Pickett, J.A. (2007) “The use of push-pull strategies in integrated pest management”. Ann. Rev. Entomol 52: 375-400

Griffiths, G.J.K., Holland, J.M., Bailey, A. and Thomas, M.B. (2007) “Efficacy and economics of shelter habitats for conservation biological control” Biological Control. doi:10.1016/j.biocontrol.2007.09.002.

Griffiths, G.J.K., Winder, L., Holland, J.M., Thomas, C.F.G. and Williams, E. (2007) “The representation and functional composition of carabid and staphylinid beetles in different field boundary types at a farm-scale” Biological Conservation 135, 145-152.

Pickett, J.A., Birkett, M.A, Blassioloi Moraes, M.C., Bruce, T.J.A., Chamberlain, K., Gordon-Weeks, R., Matthes, M.C., Napier, J.A., Smart, L.E., Wadhams, L.J. and Woodcock, C.M. (2007) “cis-Jasmone as an allelopathic agent in inducing plant defence”. Allelopathy Journal 19: 109-118

Pickett, JA., Birkett, MA., Bruce, TJA., Chamberlain, K., Gordon-Weeks, R., Matthes, MC., Napier, JA.,  Smart, LE. and Woodcock, CM. (2007) “Developments in aspects of ecological phytochemistry: The role of cis-jasmone in inducible defence systems in plants”. Phytochemistry 68: 2937–2945.

Books and Chapters
Pickett, J.A., Bruce, T.J.A., Chamberlain, K, Hassanali, A, Khan, Z.R., Matthes, M.C., Napier, J.A., Smart, L.E., Wadhams, L.J. and Woodcock, C.M. (2006) ‘Plant volatiles yielding new ways to exploit plant defence’. In Dicke, M. and W Takken, W. (eds) “Chemical Ecology: from Gene to Ecosystem.” Springer, Wageningen, the Netherlands. Ch. 11. pp. 161-173.


Conference Papers and Presentations
Bailey, A. (2005) "Adoption of alternative pest management strategies in field crop systems" Presentation to RELU conference Rural Economy and Land Use: The Challenge for Research 19-21 Jan 2005, Birmingham.
http://www.relu.ac.uk/events/Jan05/Presentations/p4 Bailey.PDF

Pickett, J. (2005) "cis-Jasmone as an allelopathic agent by plant defence induction" Presentation to Fourth International Allelopathy Congress, Wagga Wagga, Australia

Pickett, J.A., Birkett, M.A., Bruce, T.J.A., Chamberlain, K., Gordon-Weeks, R., Matthes, M.C., Moraes, C.B,. Napier, J.A., Smart, L.E., Wadhams L.J., and Woodcock, C.M. (2005) "cis-Jasmone as an allelopathic agent through plant defence induction" Presentation to Fourth World Congress on Allelopathy.

Pickett, J. (2005) "The challenge of pests to the food chain, the essential need to control pests, and the need for the food chain and science to collaborate", Keynote Address to Pesticides and the Food Chain seminar, Rothamsted Research.

Pickett, J. (2005) "The demise of pesticides – will the food chain collapse?" Guest speaker at the BCPC President’s Dinner, Glasgow (Challenge of Pests to the Food Chain).

Powell, W. (2005) "How options such as semiochemicals can deliver new options and benefits along the food chain" Presentation to Pesticides and the Food Chain seminar

Bruce, T.J.A., Hooper, A.M., Jones, O.T., Martin, J.L., Oakley, J, Smart, L.E. and Wadhams, L.J. (2006) “Development of monitoring traps for the orange wheat blossom midge, Sitodiplosis mosellana, in the UK”. Presentation to Abstracts International Society of Chemical Ecology meeting Barcelona 15-19 July.

Oaten, H. (2006) Posters presented at British Ecological Society Annual Meeting and Association of Applied Biologists Post-grad Conference.

Powell, W. (2006) “Pest management outlook for cereals and oilseeds based on recent and new research”. Presentation to Home-Grown Cereals Authority (HGCA) R&D Conference. 25-26 January.

Powell, W. (2006) “The use of catmint-derived semiochemicals for manipulating beneficial insects”. Presentation to Link Seminar on ‘Phytochemicals: plant products for health, wealth and beauty’. Rothamsted Research, 9-10 May.

Powell, W., Pell, J., Nakashima, Y., Baverstock, J. and Birkett, M. (2006) “Functional biodiversity of aphid natural enemies: positive intra-guild interactions”. Presentation to IOBC Working Group on Landscape Management for Functional Biodiversity. Zurich-Reckenholz, Switzerland, 16-19 May.

Bertaglia, M.,
Bertaglia, M.,and  Fraser, I.  (2007)“Bridging the “natural” & the “social” in knowledge about socio-technical transitions”. Presentation to ESRS 2007, Wageningen, 20-24 August.

Bertaglia, M., Sharma, A., Bailey, A., and Fraser, I. (2007)“Perceptions Of biocontrol and the adoption of new pest management strategies in the UK”. Presentation to AES, Annual Conference University of Reading, April.

Griffiths, G.J.K, Thomas, M.B, Wilby, A. and Crawley, M.J. (2007) “Isolating the components of diversity in multipredator assemblages”. Presentation to Royal Entomological Society International Symposium, Edinburgh, July.

Griffiths, G.J.K, Thomas, M.B, Wilby, A. and Crawley, M.J. (2007) “Natural enemy diversity and pest control function: theory and practice. Association of Applied Biologists”. Presentation to Theoretical Population Biology and Biocontrol’, Warwick, December.

Holland, J.M., and Bailey, A. (2007) “Investigating adoption of alternative pest management strategies in field crop systems”. Presentation to AAB meetings on “Arable Biodiversity and Insect Pest Management” by JM Holland; Theoretical population ecology – bridging the gap.

Oaten, H. “Crop protection in Southern Britain” Presentation given at AAB meetings on Arable Biodiversity and Insect Pest Management by JM Holland; Theoretical population ecology – bridging the gap.

Pickett, J. (2007) “cis-Jasmone:  not a sink but a sophisticated signal”  Presentation to Third European Symposium on Plant Lipids, King’s Manor, York, 1-4 April 2007, Keynote Lecture, April.

Pickett, J. (2007) “Highlights in the evolution of phytochemistry” Presentation to 50 Years of the Phytochemical Society of Europe, Churchill College, Cambridge: 11-14 April, 2007, Future developments in ecological phytochemistry, April.

Pickett, J. (2007) “New semiochemical technologies for use in crop protection” and “Exploiting induced and constitutive plant signalling in crop protection”. Presentations to X Siconbiol meeting on “Pheromones and other scents for the alleviation, worldwide, of many pest problems in plant, animal and human health”, Brasilia, July.

Pickett, J., (2007) “Exploiting induced and constitutive plant stress signalling in crop protection” Presentation - 17th Annual H.R. MacCarthy Pest Management Lecture, University of British Columbia, Canada, October.

Pickett, J., (2007) “Exploiting induced and constitutive plant stress signalling in crop protection”.  Presentation to workshop on Plant-insect Interactions:from Molecular Biology to Ecology, Faculty of Biology, University of Amsterdam, October.

Sharma, A., Bailey, A., Bertaglia, M. and Fraser, I. (2007) “Modelling the technology adoption decision: theory and empirical evidence” Presentation to AES, Annual Conference University of Reading, April.

Conference Proceedings
Bailey, A. (2006) Anon. Proceedings of the conference – Biodiversity Serving Agriculture. European Commission, Joint Research Centre, Ranco. Italy.

Holland, J.M, Southway, S., Birkett, T. and Moreby, S. (2006) “The relative merits of field and boundary habitats for conservation biocontrol”. In Rossing, W.A.H., Eggenschwiler, L. and H-M. Poehling (eds). IOBC/WPRS Bulletin, 29 (6) pp.57-60.