Use of pull-push strategies to manage pests in tomato crops in Louisiana

Sustainable agriculture aims to provide fresh products through the use of environmentally friendly tactics that are cost-effective, safe to the environment and economically profitable. Best farming practices rely on a combination of management tactics or IPM to reduce crop pests and enhance beneficial insects to achieve adequate crop yield.  The objective of this study was to evaluate push-pull strategies for growing tomato plants in urban multicropping systems in Louisiana. This study was conducted at Baton Roots Community Farm in Baton Rouge, Louisiana in the summer 2019. A row of tomato plants (Timmy Toe cherry variety) were interplanted with basil (cash crop) next to a row of eggplant (Beatrice variety) interplanted with sunflower (trap crop). These cash/trap crops were either planted in the border or in the middle of a multicropping system (location = treatment). Four plots for each treatment were used as replicates (plot = 3 m length), and measurements of plant height, pest damage, number of flowers and fruits were recorded weekly as well as yield (fresh weight of tomato fruits harvested). In addition, yellow pan traps and pitfall traps were used to collect insects in each plot. Results showed that crop height and yield were higher in the middle rows (400 g yield) compared to the border rows (160 g yield). The main insect pest found feeding on tomato crops was the tomato hornworm (Manduca sexta). Differences in crop performance and recommendations for urban farms will be furthered discussed.