D3269: Use of flowering plants for arthropod pest management

Crop damage due to arthropod pests is one of the most critical problems growers face in agricultural cropping systems. To combat pests, growers use various management practices, like physical, cultural, biological, and chemical, or combinations of these methods. Integrated pest management (IPM) is an environmentally sustainable practice that combines all possible pest management techniques. The use of beneficial arthropods such as natural enemies of pest species helps manage pest species without using harmful pesticides. Information on using flowering plants as an IPM technique to attract natural enemies is limited. This study used three flowering plants to attract natural enemies to a tomato crop. We used zinnia, marigold, and Rudbeckia in a replicated field study conducted in 2020 and 2021 in Tennessee. Our results show that zinnia, marigold, and Rudbeckia attract predatory arthropods, such as syrphids, ladybeetles, and Orius sp. We discuss the effects of flowering plants in attracting natural enemies in crop fields.