Will van Vliet of Van Vliet Greenhouse operated as a gerbera daisy cut blossom raiser a few years ago , who struggle a lot with biocontrol in his greenhouses . Whitefly and thrips were specifically what stymie his operations the most at the time . " raiser need to understand the full dynamics of biocontrol and how it operate in the integral system , " he says . " We can not just hold agents ad hoc . We need to know how they sham the life cycles of the pestilence they are try out to point . " Will recalls a conversation with Ronald Valentin , an IPM specialist , early in their professional relationship . " When we met , peradventure 15 years ago , he drew the lifecycle of thrips on a whiteboard in my storage warehouse . He explain where different biocontrol agents form on thrips — some targeting larva , others focusing on adults . In so help me to understand the moral force of BCA ’s , my problem with these pest were ultimately clear . "
First , there needs to be a pitchfork approach to biocontrolThe use of multiple biocontrol agents within one organization makes BCA ’s as a conception more reliable . This multi - forked approaching , which Ronald refers to as the " pitchfork approach , " ensures a more robust and reliable system . " The more prong you have on the pitchfork , the strong the system of rules becomes , " he explains . " Many growers today are just handed a bottleful of bugs — maybeAmblyseius cucumerisfor thripid — and told to put it out , but they do n’t really understand what it does or where it fits into the plague ’s lifecycle . "
The append banker plant strategyWhile many greenhouse growers purchase beneficial insect from producer and suppliers of biocontrol , Ronald emphasizes the grandness of banker plants as a complemental strategy . " Banker plants have been a intriguing mindset shift , especially for biologic control condition manufacturer , " he admit . " In core , set up banker plants in might reduce the need to introduce biological ascendancy agent . But at the same clip , it makes the whole biological system of rules a raft more reliable , which is what growers are look for . "
Banker works serve as a habitat for beneficial insects , allow them to establish and maintain population within the greenhouse rather than only being introduced reactively . " The function of banker plants is really to create a system where you maintain a universe in the glasshouse , even if you do n’t have pests in the crop yet , " he explains . " You ’re working more proactively , whereas historically , pesticides have always been responsive — spray when you see a problem . "
Melissa McIean , another IPM specialist , echo this persuasion , emphasise the importance of fully committing to biological control strategy . " You have to think about your IPM program as if you do n’t have synthetic pesticides to fall back on , " she says . " It ’s not that you should never , ever spray , but it should be an right-down last holiday resort . It is option X , Y , Z , not choice barn , D , E. No matter what you spray , there are no truly compatible pesticide . They simply do n’t exist . "
The now and then of banker plantsThe concept of banker industrial plant arise in the late eighties and early nineties through the work of Dr. Pierre Ramakers , an bugologist at the Dutch Research Institute in Naaldwijk . " At the time , there were major challenges with aphids in greenhouse bell peppers , " Ronald excuse . It was the fallible inter-group communication in the biological control system — if aphid control failed , grower had to use pesticides that were not compatible with the other BCA ’s they were using , betray the overall biological control system . "
Ramakers proposed introducing a plant , such as barley or oats , that would host an aphid species that only feeds on cereal . " That aphid is not a threat to your pepper harvest , " he say . " But it serves as a host for parasitoid wasps likeAphidius colemani , which in twist ensure the harmful aphid species set on the common pepper crops . "
" By defend a consistent population of beneficial insects , growers can reply more in effect to pest insistence without the disruptive cycle of spraying and reintroducing biologicals , " Melissa adds .
The shift toward biocontrol has been a recollective process , but growers and researchers keep to rectify and expand these strategies . " It ’s a mind-set change , " Ronald says . " We need to stop thinking about biologic ascendency as a mathematical product you buy and instead see it as a system of rules you naturalise . "
For more information : Van Vliet GreenhouseWill van Vliet[email protected]vanvlietgreenhouses.com
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