Pests’ favorite produce

Like flies to honey, certain insects in the greenhouse are drawn to specific crops. Here, Jim Brown, a horticulturist at CropKing, breaks down which vegetables attract the most common pests.

Aphids

While aphids are drawn to a variety of crops, “they do have their favorites,” Brown says. They like tomatoes and cucumbers, as well as leafy lettuces, but not so much Bibb lettuce. “If you’re scouting the greenhouse for aphids, don’t look carefully at your Bibb lettuce [first],” he says. “Look someplace else where they’re more likely to be first.”

Thrips

Thrips, like aphids, can be found on many different crops, Brown says. However, they often reproduce more on, and have a preference to, certain crops, such as eggplant and bell peppers – on which growers can detect them early.

Spider mites

Spider mites like cucumbers best, Brown says. “They will tend to go to the top of the plant where it’s warmer and drier, and you look for them there,” he says. “If you see any webbing – spider webs are what it looks like, because mites are basically in the same group [as spiders] as far as webbing – that is an indication that there are plenty of them there.”

Whiteflies

Whiteflies are common in the greenhouse, especially on tomatoes, Brown says. “We generally use beneficials to control them, and I tell people to get your beneficials ordered as soon as you see the first whitefly because by the time you see it, there are already immatures started someplace.”

Caterpillars

If butterflies and/or moths get into the greenhouse, they can lay eggs that will eventually grow into caterpillars, which can occasionally cause issues, Brown says. “The fall armyworm is one of them that can get in,” he says. “Usually by screening the greenhouse, you can keep those out.” In Brown’s experience, he has seen caterpillars mostly on tomatoes, but also on lettuce.

Beneficials are generally one of the best control options as long as growers begin treatment and prevention early enough, Brown says.

If growers have questions or need help resolving a pest issue, they can call CropKing at 330-402-4203 from the greenhouse to best identify the problem. “We’ll probably have as many or more questions than the grower has,” Brown says.

Photo: Dreamstime.com