Biological control, especially conservational tactics, can be an over-looked practice. The lack of commercial in-field evidence on impacts, such as predation services, from these control tactics and the elevated installation costs may reduce their use in different crops. The Salinas Valley is one of the few examples for the use of insectary plants, such as alyssum, in commercial settings as part of the IPM program in lettuce. One goal of this project was to document any influence of having insectary plants in commercial lettuce fields. Predation services were indirectly measured at selected organic lettuce fields by comparing aphid and hoverfly densities between fields with and without insectary plants. In addition, aphid densities were compared in selected organic lettuce fields, between areas treated with organic-certified insecticides and other areas that received the release of lacewings by drone. Releasing laboratory-reared beneficial insects (augmentative biological control) using drones could add to the pest predation services provided by the resident beneficial fauna in these commercial fields. Applied research on the use of insectary plants and the efficacy of augmentative biological control under commercial conditions might promote their use as control tactics to manage pest, such as aphids, in lettuce production.
