Meeting the challenge of pest management

Envu is pleased to partner with Greenhouse Management to support the State of the Market: Insect Control Report, which highlights the key trends and challenges we all face. Yearly surveys such as these allow us to compare ourselves against what our colleagues across the country are doing. More importantly, this benchmarking enables us to set clear goals, develop actionable integrated pest management plans and evaluate our progress toward greater sustainability.

Use this information to help you consider which pest management strategies worked well. Were there any significant successes in managing pest populations? The top four most problematic pests reported this year were aphids, thrips, mites and whiteflies. The Envu portfolio of reduced-risk insecticides (Altus®, Kontos® and Savate® insecticides) are effective against all of these and are compatible with many biological control agents. To help integrate your pest management plans, we provide an easy-to-use table, available at us.envu.com/insecticide-compatibility.

Identify challenges: Examine what didn’t work as well. Were there persistent pest issues, resistance problems or inefficiencies in pest management processes? Can more or different beneficials be incorporated into your management plan? Are there new pest concerns?

Set clear goals: Having identified challenges, set one or two specific, actionable objectives (e.g., reduce losses of one crop or by one specific pest). Controlling all the problems all the time is a lofty goal — and unlikely to be successful.

Consider sustainability: Establish goals for integrating more environmentally friendly pest management practices. This might involve increasing the use of biological controls, incorporating new scouting practices or improving sanitation. Don’t forget to evaluate the changed practice to make sure there has been:

1. A reduction in pest populations and/or incidences
2. A reduction in the rate or number of applications needed
3. Fewer labor inputs
4. Improved plant quality

Reflect: Look over what you’ve done and schedule regular evaluations (e.g., monthly or quarterly) to assess progress toward your goal(s), review the effectiveness of your tactics and overall strategy, and make adjustments when necessary. In our industry, new plant varieties, new pests, new biological controls and new pesticides mean that pest management is constantly changing. Being intentional and proactive always results in better outcomes than reacting to a pest outbreak!

At Envu, we are also changing and growing, but one thing that hasn’t changed is our desire to provide you with the tools and expertise necessary for your success and to help you achieve your goals. We are here to develop innovative products, share in our expertise, and provide you with best-in-class technical support and greener solutions. 

Sincerely,

Janna Beckerman, Ph.D.

Envu Green Solutions Team