Trap crops in pest management

Different types of trap crops which is used to manage the insect pests in agricultural field

1. TRAP CROPPING
B.INDHUMATHI M.Sc. (Agri.)-Entomology

2. DEFINITION

“Presence of second crop in the vicinity of
principal crop diverts a pest, which would
otherwise attack the principal crop”
( Van der meer 1981)

3. PRINCIPLES OF TRAP CROPPING
•Insects are attracted to plant volatiles
•Insects have differential host preference
•Insects may feed and reproduce in preferred host

4. MODALITIES OF TRAP CROPPING
The modalities of trap cropping can be
conveniently classified according to
•The plant characteristics or
•How the plants are deployed in space or
time.

5. BASED ON THE PLANT CHARACTERISTICS
•Conventional trap cropping
•Dead – end trap cropping
•Genetically engineered trap cropping

6. BASED ON DEPLOYMENT OF THE TRAP CROP
•Perimeter trap cropping
•Sequential trap cropping
•Multiple trap cropping
•Push-Pull trap cropping

7. ADDITIONAL TRAP CROPPING
•Biological control – assisted trap cropping
•Semio chemically assisted trap cropping

8. BASED ON THE PLANT CHARACTERISTICS
CONVENTIONAL TRAP CROPPING
 Trap crop planted next to a higher value crop is naturally
more attractive to a pest as either a food source or
oviposition site than is the main crop, thus preventing or
making less likely the arrival of the pest to the main crop
and concentrating it in the trap crop where it can be
economically destroyed.
Example :
•Squash bugs and cucumber beetles in several
cucurbitaceous crops
•Use of alfalfa as a trap crop for lygus bugs in cotton

10. DEAD – END TRAP CROPPING
Plants that are highly attractive to insects but on which
they or their offspring cannot survive Dead-end trap crops
serve as a sink for pests, preventing their movement from
the trap crop to the main crop later in the season.
Example :
Yellow rocket- Barbarea vulgaris var. arcuata- for DBM
Crotalaria juncea for bean pod borer, Maruca testulalis

11. YELLOW ROCKET
DBM- Plutella xylostella
SUN HEMP POD BEAN BORER- Maruca vitrata

12. GENETICALLY ENGINEERED TRAPCROPPING
•The deliberate manipulation of genes through the use of
biotechnology.
•Trap cropping based on genetically engineered plants can
also be effective in controlling insect-vectored pathogens.
Example
•Potatoes that have been genetically engineered to express
proteins from Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) have been
used as trap crops to manage Leptinotarsa decemlineata
Colorado potato beetle populations.

13. Colorado potato beetle- Leptinotarsa decemlineata

14. BASED ON DEPLOYMENT
PERIMETER TRAP CROPPING

Perimeter trap cropping can be defined as the use of a
trap crop planted around the border of the main crop.
Example :
Borders of early-planted potatoes have been used as a
trap crop for Colorado potato beetle, which moves to
potato fields from overwintering sites next to the crop,
becoming concentrated in the outer rows, where it can
be treated with insecticides, cultural practices.

15. SEQUENTIAL TRAP CROPPING
•It involves trap crops that are planted earlier and/or
later than the main crop to enhance the attractiveness
of the trap crop to the targeted insect pest.
Example :
Use of Indian mustard as a trap crop for diamondback
moth (DBM).

16. INDIAN MUSTURD
DBM- Plutella xylostella

17. MULTIPLE TRAP CROPPING
•Multiple trap cropping involves planting several plant
species simultaneously as trap crops with the purpose of
either managing several insect pests at the same time or
enhancing the control of one insect pest by combining
plants whose growth stages enhance attractiveness to
the pest at different times.
Example:
Mixture of castor, millet, and soybean to control
groundnut leafminer, Aproarema medicella,
corn and potato plants- wire worms in sweet potato

18. Groundnut leafminer
Aproarema medicella

19. WIRE WORMS- Sweet potato

20. PUSH-PULL TRAP CROPPING
The trap crop attracts the insect pest and, combined
with the repellent intercrop, diverts the insect pest
away from the main crop.
Example:
For Borer Management using
Napier or Sudan grass- Trap crop
Desmodium or molasses grass – Repellant crop

21. TRAP CROP- Sudan grass
REPELLANT CROP- Desmodium grass

22. ADDITIONAL TRAP CROPPING
BIOLOGICAL CONTROL-ASSISTED TRAP CROPPING
Addition to diverting insect pests away from the main
crop, trap crops can also reduce insect pest populations
by enhancing populations of natural enemies within the
field.
Example:
 A sorghum trap crop used to manage cotton bollworm,
Helicoverpa armigera, also increases rates of parasitism
by Trichogramma chilonis

23. SEMIO CHEMICALLY ASSISTED TRAP
CROPPING
Semiochemically assisted trap crops are either trap
crops whose attractiveness is enhanced by the
application of semiochemicals or regular crops that can
act as trap crops after the application of semio
chemicals.
Examples :
Pheromone-baited trees that attract bark beetles to
facilitate their control.

24. APPLICATIONS OF TRAP CROPPING IN
INSECT MANAGEMENT
Adoption of trap cropping is also dependent on the
potential economic return to the grower in a particular
situation.
In those cases in which we classify a particular trap
cropping system as successfully used in commercial
fields, we could not find reliable data on the actual area
in which it is grown.

25. INCREASING THE EFFECTIVENESS OF TRAP
CROPS
Combining biological and/or insecticidal control to
supplement the effects of the trap crop can increase the
effectiveness of a trap crop.
The inherent characteristics of a particular plant used as
a trap crop, insect preference can be altered in time and
space to enhance further the effectiveness of a trap crop.
Enhancing the effectiveness of the trap crop is vital to
minimize the land sacrificed to production when using
trap cropping.
Cultural control methods can also be used to increase the
effectiveness of trap crops.

26. GENERAL LIMITATIONS OF TRAP CROPPING
Crops are attacked by a complex of insect pests.
The cost of insecticide control is often low compared
with the cost of setting aside land for trap cropping,
especially in the case of vegetables and other high-value
crops.
Agronomic and logistical considerations associated with
implementing trap crops, such as different planting dates
and fertilizer requirements of the trap crop and main
crop, are also likely to limit the practical use of trap
cropping.