Effect of the Landscape on Insect Pests and Associated Natural Enemies in Greenhouses Crops: The Strawberry Study Case

Simple Summary The surrounding environment of greenhouses presents habitats, refuges, shelters, or food sources for insects, representing sources of risk for crop colonization by insect pests. A growing number of studies confirm the spontaneous influx of pests and their natural enemies in greenhouses. Identifying the properties of the surrounding landscape that affect this greenhouse crop colonization would help to improve pest prevention and biological control methods. Here, we present our study on the effect of landscape on insect colonization in greenhouse strawberry crops over two seasons in the South West of France. Our results showed that the surrounding landscape has contrasting and specific effects on crop colonization by different pest and biological control agent groups. Furthermore, the degree of openness of a greenhouse and the pest management practices marginally modulated insect crop colonization, whereas seasonality was a key factor of greenhouse crop colonization by insects. The various responses of insect groups to the surrounding landscape support the idea that management methods should involve the surrounding environment. Compared to open-field crops, the influence of the surrounding landscape on insect diversity in greenhouse crops has been poorly studied. Due to growing evidence of insect influx in greenhouses, identifying the landscape properties influencing the protected crop colonization by insect pests and their natural enemies would promote the improvement of both pest prevention and conservation biological control methods. Here, we present a field study on the effect of the surrounding landscape on the colonization of greenhouse crops by insect pests and associated natural enemies. By monitoring 32 greenhouse strawberry crops in the South West of France, we surveyed crop colonization by four insect pests and four natural enemy groups over two cultivation periods. Our results showed that the landscape structure and composition could have contrasting effects on insect colonization of greenhouse crops so there could be species-specific effects and not general ones. While the degree of openness of greenhouses and the pest management practices modulated insect diversity marginally, we also showed that seasonality represented a key factor in insect crop colonization. The various responses of insect pests and natural enemy groups to the landscape support the idea that pest management methods must involve the surrounding environment.