Use this URL to cite or link to this record in EThOS: https://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.560406
Title: Implications of new sustainable greenhouse systems for pests, diseases and biological control : a modelling approach using Oidium neolycopersici and Tetranychus urticae
Author: White, Sacha D.
ISNI:       0000 0004 2726 4241
Awarding Body: University of Warwick
Current Institution: University of Warwick
Date of Award: 2012
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Abstract:
Concerns regarding carbon emissions, increasing demands on water supplies and environmental pollution have meant that the European protected horticulture industry is being challenged to develop more sustainable greenhouse climate management systems. These new systems can however potentially impact on pest and disease (P & D) pressures and the efficacy of biological control agents (BCAs). This thesis aimed to use a combination of experimental work and simulation models to compare novel and traditional greenhouse climate management scenarios in Spain and the Netherlands using two model P & D systems. These were Oidium neolycopersici (powdery mildew) and its BCA, Bacillus subtilis, on tomato, and Tetranychus urticae (the two-spotted spider mite) and its BCA, Phytoseiulus persimilis, on ornamentals. Experiments showed that latent period, disease development and sporulation of Oidium neolycopersici were strongly influenced by temperatures between 10-33°C and that the control efficacy of B. subtilis was significantly influenced by temperature and humidity in the ranges 10-33°C and 50-95% RH. The functional response of P. persimilis was found to be significantly affected by ambient humidities of 57-99% RH, with predation highest at 85% RH and lowest below 76% RH. These results, in combination with existing data, were used to construct dynamic P & D models. A greenhouse climate model, based on observed temperatures in European greenhouses, was constructed to provide data on the diurnal and seasonal variation in temperature and humidity for different climate management scenarios. The predictions from the P & D models allowed climate control regimes in different greenhouses in Spain and the Netherlands to be identified, which minimised P & D pressures and maximised the efficacy of the BCAs. The implications of these findings for greenhouse climate management are discussed.
Supervisor: Not available Sponsor: European Union (EU)
Qualification Name: Thesis (Ph.D.) Qualification Level: Doctoral
EThOS ID: uk.bl.ethos.560406  DOI: Not available
Keywords: SB Plant culture
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