Ecological engineering of trap cropping promotes biocontrol services in peach orchard ecosystems

• We conducted the eco-engineering of trap cropping to testify biocontrol services.
• The abundance of the yellow peach moths was greatly decreased in peach orchards.
• Sunflowers and corns had a great control effect on the yellow peach moths.
• Trap cropping could promote biocontrol services in peach orchard ecosystems.

We conducted a 2-year field experiment in eastern China examining the effects of two trap crops (sunflower, Helianthus annuus and corn, Zea mays) on the biocontrol services in peach orchard ecosystems. We found that compared to levels in control areas without any trap crops, the abundance of Conogethes punctiferalis population in tree canopies in peach orchards with trap crop sunflowers and with trap crop corns decreased by 39.4 and 47.3% in 2010 and by 48.1 and 57.5% in 2011, respectively. Substantial number of C. punctiferalis population was found in the trap crop samples. In sunflowers we found 23.3 ± 4.4 per flower head in 2010 and 21.3 ± 4.0 in 2011. In the corn trap crop, counts of C. punctiferalis population were made per ear and per stalk, there were 96.0 ± 25.9 individuals per 20 ears in 2010 and 88.9 ± 23.2 in 2011, and there were 44.2 ± 7.1 individuals per 20 stalks in 2010 and 40.3 ± 6.3 in 2011. We conclude that the trap crops can be used to promote biocontrol services in peach orchard ecosystems.