INTEGRATING WEED-FEEDING INSECTS AND HERBICIDES FOR WEED-CONTROL

Literature concerning interactions between herbicides and insects is r eviewed. Herbicides can be toxic to insects or can affect them indirec tly, such as by destroying food supplies, but they usually can be used with proper application timing without affecting insects and adversel y. Herbicides and biocontrol insects can interact either favorably or unfavorably depending on the life cycle stage of weed and insect, effe ct on predatory insects, changes in food quality, mobility of the bioc ontrol insect, and impact of herbicides on weed growth. Thus, interact ions between a biocontrol insect and herbicide can be antagonistic, ad ditive, complementary, or synergistic. Split-plot techniques to evalua te these interactions at an early stage of insect establishment are pr oposed to improve weed biocontrol.