History of BIP (or PBI) in Réunion

The initial context :

• 1996 : outbreak of a new viral disease on tomatoes:: the Tomato Yellow Leaf Curl Virus (TYLCV)
• No technical solution available to meet the producers’ requests
• The producers’ will to undertake less applications of pesticides on their crops.
• Request to FDGDON

The solutions brought by FDGDON :

• 1997 : finalization of the first breeding of local beneficial insects
• Aim : parasitize the white flies responsible for TYLCV
• 1999 : set up of the BIP (or PBI) service in green house tomato crops

2002 –2003 : new set of problems

• Problems of mites on tomato crop
• Request for a BIP (or PBI) service for other green house crops

The solutions brought by FDGDON:

• Elaboration and experimentation of new control methods
• Breeding of mites parasitizing the pest mite.
• Elaboration of an innovative BIP (or PBI) strategy on cucumber and pepper under green house.

Evolution of BIP (or PBI)in Réunion

Since it has been set up, the BIP (or PBI) has continuously been developed for greenhouse tomatoes. From less that 1 hectare in 1999, the BIP (or PBI) covers in 2005 9 hectares in greenhouse crops.

• 25% of Réunion greenhouse producers are involved in the BIP (or PBI) production
• 20% of tomato cultivation under greenhouse in Réunion
• Production of BIP (or PBI) tomatoes estimated to 1300 tons per year, approximately 13 % of tomato production in Réunion.

The BIP (or PBI) allows a significant reduction of the number of chemical treatments on the crop (2 to 3 times less than a conventional control) having positive consequences in terms of :

• economy
• protection of environment
• producer’s security
• quantity of waste in the production

The control strategy of FDGDON against crop pests in BIP (or PBI)

Strategy developed

• turn away the pests from their plant target
• intercept them thanks to several levels of successive protection (plant or mechanic traps)
• use the beneficial organisms or other methods to control the populations of pests

Use of beneficial organisms against crop pests

Different categories of beneficial organsms exist: predators (who eats the pest) and parasitoids. Parasitoids are fatal to their host (they lay their eggs inside the pest). These beneficial organisms have thus an important part to play in the control of pests’ populations.
To cater for the needs of the BIP (or PBI) service, the « control methods » department of FDGDON has set up structures for breeding beneficial organisms naturally present in Réunion :

• Encarsia formosa
• Eretmocerus eremicus
• Aphidius colemani
• Trichogramma chilonis (aganst the sugar cane borer)

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