“ biologic control agent can be see as the grower ’s little employees and just like people , there are things they involve to enable them to work effectively . ” This was the opening line from a recent IPM webinar host by Autogrow and feature node expert Dr. Mette Nielsen , Ph . D. MSc Plant Protection from the Plant and Food Research Institute of New Zealand .
In Combating Harmful Pests Without spray More Chemicals , Dr. Nielsen discusses how different aspects of glasshouse climates involve biologic command agentive role ( BCAs ) and the efficacy of Integrated Pest Management .
Dr. Mette Nielsen
IPM is primarily about preventionWe’ve all heard the adage , “ prevention is better than therapeutic ” , and this spring the footing of Integrated Pest Management ( IPM ) .
“ IPM is an ecosystem - based way of adjudicate to prevent a trouble rather than to combat it . So you set out with prevention and progress to intervention if required , ” say Nielsen .
She describes a triangle : “ These days bar forms the base and interposition is at the top . This is quite different to how it would have looked in the 50s when agriculturalist would seek to ‘ spray their way out of the job ’ by spraying more and more chemicals if one did n’t lick their problem . ”
“ IPM is not against spraying but rather for trying to avoid it or at least detain it so growers can turn to sprays they have n’t used before to prevent their crop from damage , ” says Nielsen .
IPM vs insecticidesThere are several reasons why a grower might favour an IPM plan over just using insecticides . Nielsen explains : “ Even though IPM has a high initial toll to implement , it has long term benefit and so may be more monetary value effective in the long trial . On top of that , through applying IPM growers can incur premium price for their craw and leave a greener bequest – consumers also tend to be happier buying garden truck that uses less chemicals . ”
However , for the cultivator to follow through a successful IPM scheme they must learn more about their mood condition and the pests themselves . The first stride is to supervise their crop .
“ love what you have is key , ” Nielsen stresses . “ The grower needs to acknowledge what kind of pestilence may be threatening the harvest and they postulate to make out specifics about the climate in the nursery . Like the crop , the BCAs necessitate the ripe temperature , humidity and unaccented stage in purchase order to puzzle out to combat the pests . ”
The right clime for beneficialsSo , how to supervise your harvest ? Autogrow has develop Folium , a wireless greenhouse detector that aim six actual - time climate recitation . Readings are figure as heatmaps or graphical record to leave growers with a comprehensive picture of their climate conditions to assist their beneficial insects .
“ Folium units are secure and play , ” explains Kayla Waldorff , Business Development Manager at Autogrow . “ They are easy to install and moveable so you may hang them wherever you involve to collect data to inform your IPM strategy . Both real - clock time and historic data point is accessible from any gimmick 24/7 and you could export it via a .csv . ”
Watch the IPM Webinar
For more information : AutogrowKayla WaldorffEmail:[email protected]www.autogrow.com / products / folium
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