Rotation roundtable

In order not to build pest resistance to the insecticides you use in your greenhouse, you must find a good rotation of products to administer, says Mark Brotherton, portfolio leader at SePRO.

 

“You don’t want to use the same products and the same chemistries over and over again repetitively,” Brotherton says. If you don’t eliminate pests, or inhibit the growth of insects at their different life stages, they will become immune to your treatment and it will no longer be useful to you, he adds.

 

In order effectively diversify your chemistries, you must select products with different modes of action, Brotherton adds. “You’re ultimately looking to 1. to reduce the potential to develop resistance, and 2. utilize chemistries that will control the pest and their life stage(s) that are present in your greenhouse or nursery,” he says.

 

Staying on top of your pest pressure is one way to help develop a successful rotation. “In general, if you don’t have heavy pest pressure, your options are much broader,” Brotherton says. “When you have high populations destroying your crop, you need something that is fast acting to stop the damage immediately. Otherwise preventative measures allow you to use chemistries that might take a little while to completely protect your plants.

 

If you’re unsure of what chemistries enact a specific type of mode of action (MOA), you should consult with your supplier or refer to the Insecticide Resistance Action Committee, or IRAC, to learn more about active ingredient classification.

 

Lyssa Stackpoole, pest control supervisor at Color Spot Nurseries’ location in Katy, Texas, says that she and her team scout for pests every day to stay on top of the pressure in their greenhouses. But when does have an infestation issue, like aphids, she uses SePRO’s Hachi-Hachi SC, and follows up that treatment with Rycar, which she reports is good for control of whiteflies and mealybugs, as well as aphids.

 

In California, Houwelings’ IPM Manager Carlos Pintos uses several different growth regulators to control pest pressure for tomatoes, including SePRO’s Talus. “In three weeks, we stop and then see [if we need] to start again,” Pintos says. If pressure has not been relieved at that point, they’ll start over that three-product again rotation and in order.

 

Brotherton says the number of products that you rotate in your greenhouse is ultimately up to you as a facility. But he does have a suggestion. “My rule of thumb is to use at least three different chemistries before restarting the rotation,” he says. 

 

For more information, visit www.SePRO.com.