Recruiting beneficial insects to high tunnel tomatoes using supplemental floral resources

High tunnel tomato production is becoming increasingly popular in the US, but the ecological dynamics of insects in this system are poorly understood. Previous research has shown that high tunnels host a low abundance of pollinators and natural enemies. Developing strategies to promote the recruitment of these insects to high tunnels would generate pollination and pest suppression services that would benefit tomato production and potentially increase commodity yield. Interplanting supplemental floral resources amongst crops is a strategy that has been shown to increase beneficial insect diversity in field crops, but the efficacy of this practice in high tunnels has not been tested. In this study, we test the ability of the insectary plant sweet alyssum to recruit pollinators and natural enemies to high tunnel tomatoes and evaluate how this recruitment impacts yield. We conduct observations of tomato flower visitors to determine differences in pollinator recruitment in tunnels with and without sweet alyssum and implement pollinator performance trials to determine the contribution of these pollinators to tomato yield. We use yellow sticky cards and pitfall traps to assess the recruitment of natural enemies and deploy sentinel prey to evaluate the pest suppression services of these natural enemies. Finally, we compare tomato yield and marketability in tunnels with and without sweet alyssum to assess the economic viability of this beneficial insect recruitment strategy. This study has the potential to generate a novel and cost-effective cultural practice that can increase the sustainability and profitability of high tunnel tomato production.