Guardian Plants Support Greenhouse IPM as Indicators, Traps, Bankers, and Habitat Plants

Plants have been used to serve IPM as indicator plants, trap plants, banker plants, and nectar/pollen/habitat plants. Now plants are being used to serve several of these functions at once, particularly in greenhouses where plants or plant stages supportive to natural enemies may be rare. An indicator plant species pulls pests species and serves as a site where natural enemies attack them. If the pests die on the indicator plant, the plant has become a trap plant. If these natural enemies reproduce on the indicator plant, it has become a banker plant. We have named these multifunction plant tools “Guardian Plants” and will present data on using eggplants and other plants as Guardian Plants in ornamental greenhouses.