Armenian greenhouse vegetable producer, Spayka, is seeing the results of starting its IPM programs early in its on-site plant propagation unit. Helping to establish predators earlier in the crop cycle makes good commercial sense and is a trend gaining traction with progressive European growers and propagators.
Producing various types of agricultural products, Spayka began trading fresh fruits and vegetables to CIS and European countries in 2007.
Keen to reduce reliance on conventional chemical crop protection products, in 2020 Spayka collaborated with Biobest, and local distributor Agro Master, on an initial IPM trial on 20ha. It proved so successful that within a year the company had embraced IPM on both its high-tech sites, totaling 115ha, near the capital Yerevan.
"In the Middle East, with no local dedicated plant propagators, larger operations tend to produce their young plants in-house," says Pascal Briand, Biobest IPM and Pollination Specialist. "The transplants benefit from the very short distance they travel, while the in-house team has complete control over the production process and, importantly, can start IPM programs earlier."
"The key to achieving good control is to establish IPM programs as early as possible before the pests appear," says Pascal. "Starting the strategy at the crop outset saves time and means an army of predators can be established on the young plants preventatively before pests arrive."
Timing is everything
With Tuta absoluta and whitefly pressure high in the tomato crop, Macrolophus-System is central to Spayka's IPM control strategy.
"This generalist mirid bug can take a while to establish," explains Pascal. "Timing is everything. To get ahead of the pests, the strategy focuses on introducing Macrolophus-System at propagation, with the aim of getting a new predator generation to emerge one week after transplanting, and not before. Too soon and these highly mobile predators are likely to be lost when moving the young plants to the main glasshouses.
"The key is to introduce Macrolophus 7-10 days before transplanting and to implement a weekly supplementary feeding program with Nutrimac-Plus. Protein-rich Nutrimac-Plus contains Ephestia eggs, helping to optimize predator egg laying. The strategy is working very well – we are getting a good population of Macrolophus in the tomato crops from spring."
Controlling thrips early
In the aubergine and cucumber crops, thrips pressure is particularly high mid-season. The
Spayka propagation team starts the IPM program with Amblyseius cucumeris.
"A loose format product, Amblyseius-System is broadcast over the young plants," explains Pascal. "As they are closely spaced, it's easier to achieve an even spread of predators. When transplanted, the tiny predatory mites are already well distributed throughout the crop, ready to seek out prey.
"We work closely with Spayka's production team to select the most IPM-compatible sprays as backup. If possible, we choose biopesticides that work well with beneficials."
A growing trend in Europe
"European growers generally buy in young plants from commercial propagators - relinquishing some control," says Pascal. "However, progressive growers are increasingly collaborating with propagators to minimize the use of IPM-incompatible sprays, and to develop strategies for starting IPM programs early.
"It makes sense to apply some products when young plants are closely spaced. Application is easier and therefore tends to be better, leading to improved outcomes. In cucumbers, for example, the biofungicide Asperello T34 Biocontrol is widely used to protect plants from soilborne diseases, such as Pythium – ultimately promoting healthy root and plant growth. Another example is NemaFence Felti, containing beneficial nematodes that are suspended in water and applied to control pests including thrips and sciarid larvae.
"In some European countries, such as France, the pest pressure is particularly high in the second and third cucumber crops of the season. By introducing Swirskii-System and supplementary feeding, propagators can help build up a standing army on the young plants, which is particularly beneficial when there is no clean break between crops."
Improved scouting and monitoring
While closely spaced young plants offer advantages when it comes to spraying and broadcasting predators, pest scouting and monitoring become more challenging.
"We are seeing growing interest from propagators for our Trap-Eye pest monitoring system," says Pascal. "Fast and accurate, this solar-powered system automatically takes pictures of yellow sticky traps to standardize, identify and count flying insects.
"Saving time and labor, Trap-Eye improves pest identification and count accuracy, and can also be used to monitor mirid bugs - Macrolophus and Nesidiocoris. A high-tech tool, it can generate a full overview of the propagation greenhouse, showing pest heat maps and graphs of insect trends. Enabling propagators to target control programs accordingly, Trap-Eye is ultimately helping to get young plants and IPM programs off to the best start."
