Targeting diamondback moths in greenhouses by attracting specific native parasitoids with herbivory-induced plant volatiles.

We investigated the recruitment of specific parasitoids using a specific blend of synthetic herbivory-induced plant volatiles (HIPVs) as a novel method of pest control in greenhouses. In the Miyama rural area in Kyoto, Japan, diamondback moth (DBM) (, Lepidoptera: Plutellidae) larvae are an important pest of cruciferous crops in greenhouses, and (Hymenoptera: Braconidae), a larval parasitoid of DBM, is found in the surrounding areas. Dispensers of HIPVs that attracted and honey feeders were set inside greenhouses (treated greenhouses). The monthly incidence of DBMs in the treated greenhouses was significantly lower than that in the untreated greenhouses over a 2-year period. The monthly incidences of and DBMs were not significantly different in the untreated greenhouses, whereas monthly incidence was significantly higher than monthly DBM incidence in the treated greenhouses. Poisson regression analyses showed that, in both years, a significantly higher number of was recorded in the treated greenhouses than in the untreated greenhouses when the number of DBM adults increased. We concluded that DBMs were suppressed more effectively by in the treated greenhouses than in the untreated greenhouses.