ISHS Acta Horticulturae 710: International Symposium on Greenhouses, Environmental Controls and In-house Mechanization for Crop Production in the Tropics and Sub-Tropics
PEST AND DISEASE MANAGEMENT FOR CROP PRODUCTION INSIDE GREENHOUSES |
| Author: | A.R. Syed |
| Keywords: | greenhouses, protective cultivation, pest and diseases, biological control, integrated pest management |
| Abstract:
The warm humid conditions and the abundance of food in greenhouses and protective structures are ideal for occurrence and development of pests and diseases. Problems can be chronic unless recognized and corrected. There are several major pests and diseases caused by living organisms belonging to several groups including arthropods, acarina, mollusks and microbial causal organisms like fungi, bacteria and viruses. The common and important pests are spidermites, thrips, whiteflies, leafminers, aphids, lepidopteran larvae, slugs and snails. The common diseases of economic importance include powdery mildew, downy mildew, damping-off, root rots, late blight disease, gray mold, sclerotinia stem rots, and a wide range of viral and bacterial diseases. There are several steps before control and management tactics are employed for the reduction or elimination of the pest and disease problem in a particular greenhouse or protective structure. The preliminary steps are (1) clean production area, (2) select clean resistant quality seeds and plants, and (3) early pest and disease detection with regular inspection using sticky and pheromone traps. The next stage is to consider all management and control tactics available for the particular pest and disease detected. The control options should take into consideration economic aspects, toxicological and environmental effects of the management tool to be employed. The control options available include (1) cultural, (2) physical, (3) mechanical, (4) biological, and (5) chemical control. The more appropriate approach in pest and disease management would be to utilize all possible options with reduction of pesticide usage and making biological control as core component of the management programme. This control tactic is generally termed as integrated pest management or IPM. | |
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