You are deep in the trenches, battling against a seemingly insurmountable horde of insects in a last-ditch effort to salvage your crop and you think to yourself, “I would do anything to stick it to these wretched bugs, yet my best efforts hardly seem to make a dent in their numbers. Where did I go wrong? What could I have done differently to prevent this nightmare?” Unless you have a time machine or a magic wand, you probably already missed your chance.
Creating a preventative integrated pest management (IPM) plan without traditional pesticides is critical to the success of your business. As they say, “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.”
IPM is typically one of the three largest overhead operating expenses in controlled environment agriculture (CEA). If you think about it, you are not only creating an ideal environment for your plants, but you are also creating a utopian bliss for pests. There are several ways to stay ahead of different pest pressures, but the most powerful tool in the CEA grower’s toolbox is exclusion. Preventing pests – whether they are insects, fungal or viral – from entering your oasis can be accomplished through a combination of procedural and mechanical control techniques such as keeping exterior perimeters clear of foliage and weeds, setting up air intake filtration, screening openings and maintaining positive air pressure.
While implementing and maintaining proper biosecurity procedures may at first seem costly or unnecessary, IPM is truly invaluable and pales in comparison to the costs and demoralizing stress of fighting pests once they become established inside a facility. Do yourself a favor – get an IPM plan in place, and ensure that everyone is on board with the strategy before a problem arises. Trust me, it will be money well spent.