Selection of Companion Plants for Pest Control of Cruciferous Crops

Selection of Companion Plants for Pest Control of Cruciferous Crops

Background and objective: This study was conducted to determine the types of pests that occur in spring and autumn on three types of cruciferous vegetables, which are host plants, and investigate the actual effect by selecting companion plants with pest control effects. Methods: This study selected 3 types of cruciferous crops and 17 types of companion plants through literature review to investigate the types of pests and damage index occurring in spring and autumn. After examining the number of pests that occur per 10 plants on a weekly basis, the mean and standard deviation were calculated using the IBM SPSS statistics Ver. 25 program. Results: There was little damage to pests in 17 types of herbs, flowers, and vegetables. When grown together with cruciferous vegetables, 8 types of herbs, 5 types of vegetables, and 4 types of flowers showed little pest damage. In particular, companion plants that suffered less pest damage were catnip, chamomile, thyme, and nasturtium in spring cultivation and thyme, basil, catnip, chamomile, rosemary, and marigold in autumn cultivation. Shoot growth of Kimchi cabbage and white radish in the experimental group planted with vegetables was 148-181% of the control group using conventional cultivation but companion planting with rosemary, nasturtium, and marigold showed less growth than the control group, especially the experimental group planted with rosemary, which showed 45-53% of growth compared to the control group. The companion plants with good growth in the root of white radish were celery, beet, basil, and marigold. There was little difference in the degree of pest damage to crops between the central planting with a few companion crops and the parallel, alternate, and perimeter planting with many companion crops. Conclusion: Pests can be managed effectively with a pest management technique that utilizes the pull effect based on the interaction between frequently occurring pest types and companion plants.