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Decision Making for Planning Crops Known


By Carole Neil and Sarah Scally


If you’re thinking about what plants to order or grow this season and are unsure about a particular crop because it has a known pest problem, you’re not alone. With new plant pests, such as impatiens downy mildew (IDM), arriving in our state all too often, it is easy to get overwhelmed when making decisions about what plants to carry at your business. Te best thing to do is to break down and weigh out the risks and impacts the pest poses to your crop.


Te first step is to determine if you can identify the pest, its damage or symptoms. Te earlier you recognize that a pest is present on your plants the earlier you can do something about it. If the symptoms or damage can be confused with other pests or problems, this may increase the time it takes to respond. Also, a pest that can go undetected upon the arrival of the plants at your business may pose a larger risk than one that is easily recognizable that you could respond to quickly. Next take a minute to think about the plant host. Is the pest specific to one particular type of plant or could this affect other species? Host specificity may make the scouting process easier because you know exactly which plants can be affected. A generalist pest could arrive at your nursery and spread to other crops. Tink about what type and the severity of damage the pest causes. For example, a plant could have an obvious rust that is associated with it, but it may not be something that kills the plant. On the other hand a disease like IDM may not show any symptoms for a length of time, but cannot be cured and ultimately kills the plant. Next determine what options you have to control the pest and if there are remedial controls that are practical and cost effective for you to use. You may or may not be able to prevent a pest from becoming a problem at your business by choosing good sources, having good cultural practices, or using preventative controls. In that case it may be worth growing the plant crop in question. After thinking through the difficulties the pest could present,


you will want to think about why you are growing or selling the crop in the first place. Is the crop valuable enough for you to keep growing? Value could be from the quantity you can sell, the profit you can make, or the purpose of the plant. Often those factors are driven by the value of the plant to your customers such as popularity, the size or number of plants in a pot verses the price, ease of maintenance, pest resistance, and where or how the plant can be used. Consider if alternative plants could be as valuable. Finally, it is important to determine what impact the potential pest could have on your customers. Whether a pest went home with them on their plant or blew into their landscape on the wind, often your customers will come to you


6 Spring2013


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