Dataset Information

An individual-based model of the evolution of pesticide resistance in heterogeneous environments: control of Meligethes aeneus population in oilseed rape crops.

ABSTRACT: Preventing a pest population from damaging an agricultural crop and, at the same time, preventing the development of pesticide resistance is a major challenge in crop protection. Understanding how farming practices and environmental factors interact with pest characteristics to influence the spread of resistance is a difficult and complex task. It is extremely challenging to investigate such interactions experimentally at realistic spatial and temporal scales. Mathematical modelling and computer simulation have, therefore, been used to analyse resistance evolution and to evaluate potential resistance management tactics. Of the many modelling approaches available, individual-based modelling of a pest population offers most flexibility to include and analyse numerous factors and their interactions. Here, a pollen beetle (Meligethes aeneus) population was modelled as an aggregate of individual insects inhabiting a spatially heterogeneous landscape. The development of the pest and host crop (oilseed rape) was driven by climatic variables. The agricultural land of the landscape was managed by farmers applying a specific rotation and crop protection strategy. The evolution of a single resistance allele to the pyrethroid lambda cyhalothrin was analysed for different combinations of crop management practices and for a recessive, intermediate and dominant resistance allele. While the spread of a recessive resistance allele was severely constrained, intermediate or dominant resistance alleles showed a similar response to the management regime imposed. Calendar treatments applied irrespective of pest density accelerated the development of resistance compared to ones applied in response to prescribed pest density thresholds. A greater proportion of spring-sown oilseed rape was also found to increase the speed of resistance as it increased the period of insecticide exposure. Our study demonstrates the flexibility and power of an individual-based model to simulate how farming practices affect pest population dynamics, and the consequent impact of different control strategies on the risk and speed of resistance development.

SUBMITTER: Stratonovitch P

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4274105 | biostudies-literature | 2014

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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An individual-based model of the evolution of pesticide resistance in heterogeneous environments: control of Meligethes aeneus population in oilseed rape crops.

Stratonovitch Pierre P Elias Jan J Denholm Ian I Slater Russell R Semenov Mikhail A MA

PloS one 20141222 12

Preventing a pest population from damaging an agricultural crop and, at the same time, preventing the development of pesticide resistance is a major challenge in crop protection. Understanding how farming practices and environmental factors interact with pest characteristics to influence the spread of resistance is a difficult and complex task. It is extremely challenging to investigate such interactions experimentally at realistic spatial and temporal scales. Mathematical modelling and computer ...[more]

PMID: 25531104

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Project description:Heavy reliance on pesticide inputs to maintain crop yields has been an important aspect of agricultural intensification. Insecticide use has had detrimental impacts on pollinators and natural pest control agents, contributing to a decline in associated ecosystem services, and has also led to resistance development in pest populations. Throughout Europe, in oilseed rape (Brassica napus L.) crops, prophylactic use of insecticides against pollen beetles (Meligethes aeneus F. also known as Brassicogethes aeneus) has led to such issues, and there is an urgent need to develop more sustainable pest management practices for the crop. Although advice is available to oilseed rape growers regarding control thresholds, it may not be adhered to due to the expense of pollen beetle monitoring relative to the inexpensive cost of pyrethroid insecticides. Thus, the key to reducing prophylactic insecticide applications may lie with improved, less labour intensive methods of pollen beetle monitoring. For these to be realized, a better understanding is needed of the effects of agri-landscape features and meteorological conditions on pollen beetle immigration into the crop. In this study, based on data from four years of pollen beetle monitoring on a total of 41 field sites, we model the effects of meteorological (wind speed and direction, rainfall and accumulated temperature) and landscape (areas of woodland, residential gardens, the current and previous seasons' oilseed rape crops, and lengths of hedgerows and treelines) variables on directional sticky trap catches, at both the single trap and field scales. Meteorological variables, particularly accumulated temperature and wind speed were more important than landscape variables in predicting the abundance of pollen beetles immigrating into OSR fields. Sticky traps that were facing downwind caught more beetles than those that were facing across-wind or upwind; this is the first study to show at a landscape-scale, direct evidence for use of upwind anemotaxis by pollen beetles at the point of entry during immigration into the crop. At the field scale, the area of oilseed rape grown in the previous season was found to be positively related to trap catch, but no relationships with other landscape variables were found. Optimally-placed monitoring traps could complement existing decision support systems to reduce pollen beetle monitoring effort and encourage use of insecticides only when control thresholds are breached, thus enhancing the sustainability of oilseed rape production. Knowledge of the area of oilseed rape crops grown during the previous season in the surrounding landscape could contribute to risk assessment of potential pest pressure for individual OSR crops.

Project description:Oilseed rape (Brassica napus) is an important combinable break crop in the UK, which is largely protected from arthropod pests by insecticidal chemicals. Despite ongoing debate regarding the use of neonicotinoids, the dominant seed treatment ingredients used for this crop, there is little publicly available data comparing the efficacy of insecticides in controlling key arthropod pests or comparing the impacts on non-target species and the wider environment. To provide an insight into these matters, a UK-wide expert survey targeting agronomists and entomologists was conducted from March to June 2015. Based on the opinions of 90 respondents, an average of 20% yield loss caused by the key arthropod pests was expected to have occurred in the absence of insecticide treatments. Relatively older chemical groups were perceived to have lower efficacy for target pests than newer ones, partly due to the development of insecticide resistance. Without neonicotinoid seed treatments, a lack of good control for cabbage stem flea beetle was perceived. Wide spectrum foliar insecticide sprays were perceived to have significantly greater negative impacts than seed treatments on users' health, natural enemies, pollinators, soil and water, and many foliar active ingredients have had potential risks for non-target arthropod species in UK oilseed rape fields for the past 25 years. Overall, 72% of respondents opposed the neonicotinoid restriction, while 10% supported it. Opposition and support of the restriction were largely based on concerns for pollinators and the wider environment, highlighting the uncertainty over the side effects of neonicotinoid use. More people from the government and research institutes leaned towards neutrality over the issue, compared to those directly involved in growing the crop. Neonicotinoid restriction was expected to result in greater effort and expenditure on pest control and lower production (0-1 t/ha less). Alternatives for future oilseed rape protection were then discussed.

Dataset Information

An individual-based model of the evolution of pesticide resistance in heterogeneous environments: control of Meligethes aeneus population in oilseed rape crops.

Publications

An individual-based model of the evolution of pesticide resistance in heterogeneous environments: control of Meligethes aeneus population in oilseed rape crops.

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