banker plants for aphid control
To manage aphid infestations in greenhouses, growers can introduce banker plants that draw different species of aphids that don’t feed on the main crop but that, crucially, serve as attractive hosts for parasitoid wasps, which will then also parastize the pest aphids on the main crop. Banker plants can be grown in pots and transported easily to be placed adjacent to plots of crops in need of aphid management. (Photo credit: Tracey L. Payton Miller, Ph.D.)