PAROLIN , Pia

This review aims at better understanding the employment of biocontrol plants in order to enhance the stability of populations of predatory mites in crop systems, with the ultimate goal to reduce pesticide use and to control pest mites on roses. We analyzed if plant species used in a banker plant system influenced the success in terms of quality...

More than one thousand tree species grow in Amazonian floodplain forests, an environment which is closely linked to a periodical and predictable flood pulse. All biotic and abiotic modes of dispersal which are known for trees in surrounding ecosystems are also present in the floodplains. Additionally, the seasonal flood pulse being a dominant...

The relationship between seed germination and ecological niche is determined by matching germination characteristics with environmental features. In this study, we selected tree species occurring in the largest savanna wetland in South America - the Pantanal. Very few species are endemic or exclusively found in savanna wetlands, and the...

Fish is a very important part of the human diet in Amazonia. Near the growing cities, fish populations and individual size have decreased over the past decades. Alternatives to traditional and industrial fishing arise, including fish farming. Strategies to minimize the impact of fish farms on the environment are needed to have a regular and...

The predatory mirid bug Macrolophus pygmaeus Rambur (Heteroptera: Miridae) is commonly employed to control whiteflies Trialeurodes vaporariorum Westwood (Homoptera: Aleyrodidae), a common pest on tomatoes. In greenhouses of the Mediterranean, tomatoes are important crops and the need to find alternatives to pesticide use is increasing. With the...

International audience

Dittrichia viscosa is a common plant species in the Mediterranean region which is adapted to a wide range of environmental stresses. It is an important species that can be used for phytoremediation, as bioaccumulator or bioindicator, and it has the potential for being employed in integrated pest management in the Mediterranean ecosystem due to...

The flowering and fruiting phenology of Bactris glaucescens (tucum), its fruit consumption by Piaractus mesopotamicus (pacu), and the possible dispersal of its diaspores were observed in riparian forests and nearby areas of a secondary channel of the Rio Paraguai. Between February and October 1998, 136 individuals of P. mesopotamicus were...

Studies of interactions between crops, additional plants, pests and beneficial organisms already exist as well as studies of natural enemy preference, dispersal, and abundance. However, these studies focus on tri-trophic interactions from an "arthropod" point, of view. We think that in order to optimize crop protection methods we need to...

Secondary plants may be added to a cropping system for the purpose of improving pest control. In a recent article (Parolin P, Bresch C, Brun R, Bout A, Boll R, Desneux N, Poncet C (2012) Secondary plants used in biological control: a review, International Journal of Pest Management 58, 91-100) we defined different categories of secondary plants...