In this section:
Risk of attack
Reducing the risk
Many things are very effective in reducing the threat from pests and diseases:
PROTECT YOUR CROP FROM EXTERNAL ATTACK
- Clear weeds and old crops well before planting
- Repair/improve greenhouse to reduce pest entry
- Obtain seedlings free of pest & disease (e.g. TSWV and thrips) and protect them from attack once delivered to your farm
- Selecting plant varieties for resistance/tolerance to damage where possible
- Choose the best time & place with less risk
MAINTAIN CROP HYGIENE
- Remove sick plants from crop
- Do not work from infested crops to ‘clean’ ones
- Start with the cleaner one
- Control vehicles and people entering your crops
Clean Up the Region Farm by Farm
- Guidelines for Good Crop Hygiene (PDF)
- Broadleaf weeds mean trouble (PDF)
- Make life hard for western flower thrips (PDF)
Better Greenhouse Design Can give you:
Greatly Improved Control of Thrips, Virus and Whitefly
Farm trials at Virginia have demonstrated that improved greenhouse design can lead to much better control of thrips, virus and whitefly using almost no chemicals.
To get real benefits from your investment it is important to consider the following things before improving an existing greenhouse or designing a new one:
- Use the fine ‘anti-virus mesh’ which is now much cheaper. This can cause an increase in humidity and more plant disease so you may need to improve greenhouse ventilation
- Build a double entry door to reduce the entry of thrips and whitefly
- Include an easy system for raising and lowering plastic sheets over the mesh
- If fine mesh is added to old greenhouses they may still have cracks and holes, e.g. along the edges of corrugated fibreglass sheets, where thrips will still get in and then build up
EVEN WITH AN IMPROVED GREENHOUSE YOU WILL STILL HAVE TO MONITOR AND CONTROL PESTS SO THAT THEY CANNOT BUILD UP AND CAUSE DAMAGE.
Before you spend your money consider getting the most from your improvement $$’s by investing in other changes like:
- Better climate control with increased ceiling height, circulation fans. overhead misting and heating
- Selecting a different trussing system to harvest more efficiently with extended crop life
- Changing plant/row spacing to increase productivity and ease crop labour
- Putting in a hydroponic system
For expert advice on greenhouse design contact
- Your local consultants, retailers of greenhouse materials and greenhouse specialist companies
- The Australian Hydroponic Greenhouse Association (external links) produce an industry publication (‘Soilless Australia’) specialising in greenhouse technology. Contact Saskia Blanch on 02 9939 5992
- Internet sites for greenhouse technology (eg NSW DPI, external link)
Some key differences between three levels of greenhouse technology
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1) Low technology
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2) Medium Technology
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3) High Technology |
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Improved hygiene, monitoring and spray program gives very good results. Biological control is difficult |
Biological control can be included if thrips & whitefly are at lower levels with fine mesh on sides & vents |
Modern systems make excellent pest control possible, including biological strategies |
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