Nematode of the genus Steinernema sp. as a possible controller of
Frankliniella occidentalis in the propagation of cuttings of four standard
carnation cultivars in the savanna of Bogotá.
Nematodo del género Steinernema sp. como posible controlador de Frankliniella
occidentalis en la propagación de esquejes de cuatro cultivares de clavel estándar en la
sabana de Bogotá
Paula Daniela García Suarez
Master's Degree, Corporación Universitaria Minuto de Dios,
Zipaquirá Colombia, paugarciasuar95@gmail.com
https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5726-411X
William Javier Cuervo Bejarano
Master's Degree, Corporación Universitaria Minuto de Dios,
Centro Regional Sabana Centro y Ubaté, Zipaquirá,
Colombia, wcuervo@uniminuto.edu,
https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4097-8890
paugarciasuar95@gmail.com
Abstract
Thrips, Frankliniella occidentalis (Pergande)
(Thysanoptera: Thrypidae), is a polyphagous quarantine
pest that causes damage throughout the development
cycle of plants; for carnation cuttings its damage is
identified as leaf scrapings, tissue deformations and
reduction of cuttings size, which affects their
marketability. Entomopathogenic nematodes are efficient
biological controllers, they associate symbiotically with
gram-negative bacteria and kill the prey in a short time.
The objective of this research was to determine the effect
of the nematode genus Steinernema, evaluating the
incidence of F. occidentalis, the efficacy of Steinernema
sp. with respect to the production of cuttings and a cost-
benefit relationship comparing biological and chemical
control in a commercial carnation propagation crop in the
Sabana of Bogota. The evaluation was performed on four
standard carnation mother plant cultivars between weeks
44 and 52 of 2018, polyurethane foams containing 1 x
106
infective juveniles of Steinernema sp. applied using a
flute irrigation system were used and compared with a
control group (commercial chemical).
Key words: Biological control, cultivars, thrips,
entomopathogenic nematodes, carnation.
http://centrosuragraria.com/index.php/revista, Published by: Edwards Deming
Institute, Quito - Ecuador, July - September vol. 1. Num. 9 2021, This work is
licensed under a Creative Commons License, Attribution-NonCommercial-
ShareAlike 4.0 International. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-
sa/4.0/deed.es
Received March 22, 2020
Approved: October 27, 2020
Garcia, Cuervo
July - September vol. 1. Num. 9 2021
Resumen
Los trips, Frankliniella occidentalis (Pergande) (Thysanoptera: Thrypidae), son una plaga
cuarentenaria polífaga que ocasiona daños en todo el ciclo de desarrollo de las plantas; para los esquejes
de clavel su daño se identifica como raspaduras en las hojas, deformaciones del tejido y reducción del
tamaño del esqueje, lo que afecta su comercialización. Los nematodos entomopatógenos son
controladores biológicos eficientes, se asocian simbióticamente con bacterias gram-negativas y matan
a la presa en corto tiempo. La investigación tuvo como objetivo determinar el efecto del nematodo del
género Steinernema, evaluando la incidencia del F. occidentalis, la eficacia de Steinernema sp. respecto
a la producción de esquejes y una relación costo-beneficio comparando el control biológico y el control
químico en un cultivo comercial de propagación de clavel en la Sabana de Bogotá. La evaluación se
realizó en cuatro cultivares de plantas madre de clavel estándar entre las semanas 44 y 52 de 2018, se
utilizaron espumas de poliuretano que contenían 1 x 10
6
de juveniles infectivos de Steinernema sp.
aplicados mediante un sistema de riego por flauta y se compararon con un grupo control (producto
químico comercial).
Palabras clave: Control biológico, cultivares, trips, nematodos entomopatógenos, clavel.
Introduction
In Colombia, flower production for export has been important for the country, ranking second
only to the Netherlands. The main export destination for flowers is the United States, with
roses, carnations, mini carnations, chrysanthemums, and foliage being the most in demand
Quirós (2001). The flower industry in Colombia has become billions of dollars, with
approximately 75% of exports to the United States, creating alliances and free trade benefits,
to obtain success between the two countries and increase the employment rate (Salom &
Sepúlveda, 2012). For 2018, Colombian flower exports reported US$75.5 million through
April, with a volume of 14,415 t and for 2017 US$1,342 million. The area cultivated in flowers
is equivalent to 8,000 ha planted and is concentrated in the Bogotá savanna with 66% (Lesmes-
Fabian & Binder, 2013, p.23). )
Carnation is mainly propagated by cuttings while maintaining the mother plants in optimal
conditions; however, productivity has decreased in recent years due to factors such as
pathogens and pests Lopez et al.,(2010). One of the main pests affecting carnation is the thrips
Frankliniella occidentalis (Thysanoptera: Thrypidae
Gillett-Kaufman et al., (2009); Picard et al., (2012) quarantine pest that causes damage from
sowing to the end of the cycle, on leaves, buds, stems and flowers (Mouden et al., 2017, p. 34).
In production cuttings, damage is identified as leaf scrapings, size reduction and deformations
Rodríguez-Reina et al., (1992); (Arévalo et al., 2007).
The quality of cuttings is related to phytosanitary conditions; when symptoms of damage are
present, they cause economic losses (Funderburk et al., 2000), in order to prevent them, control
strategies such as ethological, cultural and chemical (Reitz et al., 2003) have been used in the
management of thrips, whose inadequate management causes damage to soil, water and living
beings. Agriculture in the new millennium must establish new control alternatives that produce
less environmental impact and risk (Melo, Ortega, Gaigl, 2010, p. 19) that will reduce the use
76
of synthetic pesticides, which, due to their high cost, represent a limitation in their use.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), between 500,000 and one million people
are poisoned annually by pesticides, and between 5,000 and 20,000 lose their lives, taking into
account that 50% of those who die are agricultural workers and the other 50% from consuming
contaminated products. It is important to take into account sustainable development, referring
to the efficient use of natural resources, where it is possible to improve the welfare of the
current community, without compromising the quality of life of future generations Guedez &
Castillo (2016), therefore, alternatives such as biological control are important.
One of the biological control methods used for thrips management, which have been little
studied in conditions of the Bogotá savanna Jiménez et al, (2012) are nematodes, individuals
recognized for their efficiency in predation since they can take less than 48 h to kill their prey
and are associated with gram-negative bacteria of the genera Xenorhabdus and Photorhabdus,
produce proteases that digest insect tissues and antibiotics capable of inhibiting the growth of
secondary colonizers Melo et al. (2009)The life cycle of the Steinernema nematode begins
when it enters the insect through natural openings such as spiracles, mouthparts and anus, the
juvenile infective travels through the hemolymph and regurgitates the bacteria of the genus
Photorhabdus, from inside its intestine, the bacteria proliferate and produce toxins that kill the
insect, antibiotics, enzymes that degrade tissues and essential nutrients for the growth of
Steinernema, which, after three generations, remains in the soil until it finds the next host.
To date, there are no reports in Colombia on the effects of entomopathogenic nematodes in
carnation propagation agricultural production systems. Therefore, research was carried out to
determine the effect of the use of the nematode Steinernema sp. on the population fluctuation
of thrips Frankliniella occidentalis (Thysanoptera: Thrypidae) and the productivity of cuttings
of four standard carnation cultivars in a commercial crop in the Bogotá savanna.
Materials and methods
The trial was carried out at FLORVAL Sede QFC, located in Gachancipá, Cundinamarca
(5°00'34.5 "N, 73°51'13.7 "W, 2,664 masl). In this area the average temperature is 14°C, the
average relative humidity is 81% and the monthly sunshine is 126.4 hours. There was a wooden
greenhouse in the carnation mother plant propagation area, which consists of 17 bays each with
an area of 435.5
m2
, each bay has eight benches 31 m long and 1 m wide, where the standard
carnation mother plants are located, where 1400 plants/bench of different cultivars are planted
in a substrate based on mineral coal slag; For the study, the greenhouse was divided into two
parts (A and B), A (test) where the product was applied and B (control) where the product was
not applied.
Based on the commercial importance and damage caused by Frankliniella occidentalis thrips,
four standard carnation cultivars were chosen: Rafflesia, Aragon, Moon Light and Selene.
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July - September vol. 1. Num. 9 2021
The product applied was based on entomopathogenic nematodes of the genus Steinernema, in
inert polyurethane sponges of 15 x 18 cm without dispersants; each sponge contained 10
million infective juveniles, being a safe product for human and environmental use. The
nematodes were kept at a temperature between 8 and 12 °C; direct light and freezing of the
product should be avoided; they should remain in their original packaging until use and in a
horizontal position to avoid precipitation of the material.
The product mixture was prepared in a container with a capacity of 60 L, taking into account
that 2 L of water would be applied to the container for each application bank for a total of 16
L per vessel, and then a foam was introduced with the juvenile infectives of Steinernema. To
remove the foam, three rinses were performed and 2 cm3 of a coadjuvant was added to the
mixture for each application bank, which acts as an adherent and penetrant. For the application,
the mixture was connected to a venturi tube and the banks were irrigated by means of a flute
irrigation system for 1 min per bank.
The number of cuttings harvested per cultivar and the number of cuttings removed per cultivar
were taken into account for the collection of trial data. Data were recorded daily for nine weeks.
For count analysis the data were fitted to a generalized linear model of a logistic regression
with proportions and a Poisson regression, using the R statistical package.
Result
The data were fitted to a generalized linear model with a logistic regression with proportions
to measure thrips incidence in Rafflesia, Selene, Aragon and Moon light cultivars, the
regression model presents a significant difference between treatments and cultivars. Thrips
incidence was significant for Selene cultivars with (P<.001) and Moon light with (P<.05)
(Figure 1).
Figure 1. Incidence of Frankliniella occidentalis thrips on standard carnation propagation
cultivars (Rafflesia, Aragon, Selene, Moon Light). c.n: with nematodes, s.n: without
nematodes.
78
The data were fitted to a generalized linear model with a Poisson regression to measure the
efficacy of Steinernema nematode on the productivity of good cuttings of Rafflesia, Selene,
Aragon and Moon light cultivars of the treatments with nematodes and without nematodes, the
Poisson regression model presents a significant difference between treatments and cultivars.
The efficacy of nematodes was significant for all cultivars with (P<.001) (Figure 2).
Figure 2. Productivity of cuttings of the four cultivars (Rafflesia, Aragon, Selene, Moon Light)
to measure the efficacy of the nematode genus Steinernema. c.n: with nematodes, s.n: without
nematodes.
When measuring the incidence of thrips, the variables of the number of total cuttings with
respect to the number of cuttings affected by the pest were taken into account, by means of a
logistic regression with proportions the incidence was measured in the four carnation
propagation cultivars resulting in a higher incidence in two of the cultivars Selene and Moon
light, being the white carnation cuttings with a higher incidence compared to the red ones, since
thrips has a visual stimulus capacity of attraction to white color (Castresana et al., 2009, p. 98).
In a study they measured the incidence of thrips populations on three species of solanaceae in
different cropping systems by a method of beating leaves on white cardboard, the incidence of
thrips were susceptible in some varieties of solanaceae species by the influence of genotype
(Gonzalez & Suris, 2011, p.10).)
The effectiveness of the nematode was evident, since it fulfilled the proposed objective of
lowering the incidence of thrips, by means of a Poisson regression model and taking into
account the productivity of the cuttings with respect to the two treatments, it was significantly
evident that where the application was made there was greater productivity of the propagation
cuttings, being highly significant for all cultivars. In a study, the effectiveness of the nematode
Heterorhabditis bacteriophora (Nematoda: Heterorhabditidae) for the control of larvae of
Phyllophaga spp. (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae), they measured the efficiency of the nematode
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July - September vol. 1. Num. 9 2021
by applying a different amount of nematodes in a lettuce crop through a drip irrigation system.
It is important that in carnation propagation another trial be conducted later to measure the
efficiency of the Steinernema nematode at different application rates and to make a comparison
between cultivars.
Conclusions
The incidence of Frankliniella occidentalis thrips was more significant in white cultivars
(Selene and Moon ligth) than in red cultivars (Raflessia and Aragon). However, other tests such
as color traps are required to measure the incidence according to the visual stimuli developed
by the thrips. The efficacy of the nematode was highly significant; it fulfilled the objective of
reducing thrips damage because a higher productivity of cuttings was obtained in the nematode
treatment. It is required to test the efficiency of entomopathogenic nematodes at different doses.
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