The southern green stink bug (N. viridula) is an invasive pest that is causing increasing damage to vegetable and arable crop production in Austria. Rising infestation pressure and climate change-driven population growth create an urgent need for effective management solutions. The project aims to develop and evaluate practical, environmentally sustainable, and economically viable strategies for the control of N. viridula. To this end, natural enemies in soybean fields will be surveyed and their potential for biological control assessed. Optimized release strategies for the egg parasitoid Trissolcus basalis will be tested under both open-field and protected cultivation conditions. In addition, the susceptibility of different soybean varieties, host crop and varietal preferences of the pest, and the potential of selected flowering plants as trap crops will be investigated. Furthermore, damage to runner beans will be quantified and mechanical control methods evaluated. A comprehensive knowledge-transfer program will ensure effective dissemination of project results to farmers, advisors, and the scientific community.
Projektleitung
