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COUNTRY LIFE IN BC • JUNE 2017
Hothouse growers reduce risk with IPM strategies Pest control costs reduced through proactive management
Stories by PETER MITHAM ABBOTSFORD – Pest management is a huge cost
for the horticultural sector, and the greenhouse environment often makes the problem more acute. While the greenhouse can be tightly managed, it’s also a more complex system that, in the words of Ronald Valentin, can be a house of cards. The more complex a production system is, he
told growers attending the Pacific Agriculture Show in Abbotsford this past winter, the more sensitive it is to changes in management. “Every action has a reaction,” he said, urging
growers to think carefully about what they do at each stage of the production cycle. Valentin, a technical lead based in Ontario with Bioline Agrosciences Ltd., said the issues facing growers begin with the very plants they’re bringing into the greenhouses. Often, these can have residues from the pesticides used to protect them during propagation. Poinsettias in Ontario, for example, have been known to test positive for up to 44 materials. This is a problem because some materials can counteract others, compromising pest management. While it’s tough to populate a greenhouse with plants that are entirely clean, growers need to be aware of the potential issues and work together to reduce residues.
“We really need to solve this as an industry,”
Valentin said, noting that unless everyone works together, it will be tough to develop effective spray regimens for each individual grower. While better residue regulations in place in the EU since June 2015 have helped set the tone, Valentin believes that boosting biocontrols during propagation can give plants a clean start and give growers more leeway to use harder-hitting materials further along in the production cycle when they really need them. What plants bring into a greenhouse is one question; what plants can offer a greenhouse is another. To help control pests without the use of pesticides, Valentin discussed the potential for using banker plants which can help establish a population of beneficial insects in a greenhouse and even ensure a cleaner environment for plants from the beginning. Sometimes, he said, introducing a set of plants
before the main crop arrives will help prevent pests from taking root. They’ve been shown to be useful in controlling pepper weevils, for example, for which there’s no pesticide available. Aphid banker plant systems were among the first such example and typically used M. nicotianae to provide habitat for cherry oat aphids, which provided food for parasitic wasps.
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The wasp population eventually became established enough that it went out in search of aphids that were causing the problem among greenhouse plants. Purple Flash peppers have been studied as a
banker plant for Orius insidiosus, which has proven effective against thrips. (Valentin described it as “the steam locomotive of biocontrol agents,” for its aggressive and highly successful predatory behaviours.) Populations can take 60 to 70 days to establish,
so anything that can accelerate the process – including an amenable habitat – is welcome. Valentin warned growers to make sure they weren’t using pesticides toxic to the bug in the greenhouse when they’re trying to introduce it. Similarly, mullein is a bienniel plant that attracts
Dicyphus hesperus, a predator of whitefly in tomatoes that is also known to prey on spider mites. A useful concentration is 40 plants per acre. Banker plants can’t work alone, however, and
Valentin warned growers to keep the relationships between their various strategies in mind. By respecting the delicate balance of organisms in a greenhouse, they’ll get the most out of their pest control protocols and even enhance the greenhouse environment itself. “Biological control is really preventing problems from happening, not fixing them,” he said.
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Biocontrols cut costs
IPM may mean Integrated
Pest Management to the professionals. For many growers, however, it’s come to signify, “I pay more.” But according to Sarah
Brackman of BioSafe Systems LLC in Olympia, WA, the goal of low-input pest control is to lower the need for materials that can cost millions of dollars to develop and represent a significant expense for growers. Crazy root, for example, is a tomato disease that requires an infection by Rhizobium radiobacter as well as the presence of RI plasmid, which influences root development, Brackman explained. The bacterium can be dormant for a long period before taking advantage of a wound in the root system to enter the plant tissues. Symptoms typically appear four to eight weeks after infection. “It is a very prolific and persistent pathogen,” Brackman said. “It is spread by nearly everyone and everything.” Proper sanitation is key to
managing the bacteria and the risk it presents. Hydrogen peroxide and paracetic acid are effective oxidizers but are not stable or sufficient on their own. Their efficacy can almost double if used in combination. ZeroTol, a BioSafe product applied at a 1% rate, is effective, Brackman said, emphasizing the importance of effective cleaning of organic matter from hard surfaces and especially cracks that might harbour bacteria.
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