An effective ‘push–pull’ control strategy for European tarnished plant bug, Lygus rugulipennis (Heteroptera: Miridae), in strawberry using synthetic semiochemicals

BACKGROUND European tarnished plant bug, Lygus rugulipennis (Heteroptera: Miridae), is a polyphagous pest damaging a range of arable and horticultural crops. Management is reliant upon chemical insecticides for control. These studies developed a synthetic semiochemical push–pull control strategy to reduce numbers of L. rugulipennis and subsequent fruit damage in UK strawberry crops. Using a series of small field experiments and testing in commercial strawberry crops we explored the efficacy of hexyl butyrate (HB) as the push element and female sex pheromone combined with phenylacetaldehyde as the pull element. RESULTS HB dispensers placed 1.0, 3.5, 5.0 and 7.0 m from all‐green Unitraps baited with L. rugulipennis female sex pheromone significantly reduced male catches by 99%, 54%, 44% and 20% compared with untreated control, respectively. Subsequently, in commercial crops, HB dispensers at 2‐m intervals along the crop row (the push) combined with a perimeter pull reduced numbers of adult and nymph L. rugulipennis by up to 80% in organic strawberry crops compared with the untreated control. Finally, the push–pull system halved fruit damage (8%) compared with untreated areas (16%) in conventional crops. In organic strawberry crops, 90% of untreated strawberries had some mirid damage compared with only 41–51% in push–pull‐treated areas. CONCLUSION To our knowledge, this is the first demonstration of a push–pull approach using synthetic semiochemicals giving a significant reduction in crop damage by mirids and paves the way for non‐pesticide control of a range of mirid species on multiple crops. © 2021 Society of Chemical Industry Graphic of push‐pull strategy for mirids in strawberry crops.