ISHS Acta Horticulturae 708: V International Strawberry Symposium
THIRTY YEARS OF ADVANCES IN ARTHROPOD MANAGEMENT IN FLORIDA´S COMMERCIAL STRAWBERRIES |
| Authors: | J.F. Price, C.K. Chandler, J.R. Duval, S.I. Rondon, D. Cantliffe |
| Keywords: | Fragaria × ananasa, Tetranychus urticae, Tetranychidae, Phytoseiulus persimilis, Phytoseiidae, twospotted spider mites, biological control, IPM |
| Abstract:
Florida produces more than 3000 ha. of fresh-market, winter-grown straw-berries annually. That production environment is conducive to development of arthropod pests of strawberries such as twospotted spider mite, flower thrips, melon aphid, various noctuid moth larvae, Drosophila sp. fruit fly, sap beetles and others. Before 1978 these pests were controlled in the most part, with broad-spectrum pesti-cides applied on a regular basis with little regard for the ecological status of the arthropod community. About that time, scouting to assess the ecological condition of the strawberry fields was introduced and pesticide use began to be determined ac-cordingly. By the 1990s, Phytoseiulus persimilis predators were being introduced on some farms for control of spider mites along with reduced use of ecologically disrup-tive pesticides. As more farmers adopted the practice over the next few years a new awareness of the ecological damage in the crop from broad-spectrum pesticides emerged. New pesticides with better target-pest specificity and other favourable envi-ronmental qualities replaced many of the more harsh early pesticides. Today many Florida strawberry farmers rely on biologically and ecologically based plans of arthropod pest management and are seeking new biological controls for aphids, thrips and other pests in addition to spider mites. During this 30-year transition, the strawberry industry in Florida has expanded and has become an uncommon example of an annual, field-grown, horticultural crop produced with an applied biological component of pest management. | |
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