Pest Scouting in Greenhouse Vegetables Starts With Seed Selection

Scouting for pests may be a critical component of greenhouse management, but when it comes to vegetable production, the process should start even before the plants arrive. Marjan Willett, Americas MD Protected Lead at Bayer Vegetable Seeds, offers a three-step approach that greenhouse vegetable growers can follow.

• “Prevention starts as far back as seed selection,” Willett says. “Consider the pressure for certain pests and the diseases that can follow them. Then work with your consultant or sales representative to choose a variety that has the right amount of disease resistance.” Willett also notes that no matter how diligent and careful growers are to keep pests and diseases out, nature has a way of finding a work around.
• “Inspect plants carefully as soon as you receive them from the propagator, because that’s your first opportunity to keep pests out,” Willett advises. “Look closely, turning over leaves to spot evidence of insect larvae.”Then bring in trained experts, consultants, or specialized staff members to monitor plants. They should come every week at the same day and time to walk the rows. If they see any signs of pests or diseases, they need to record it, so you can track where it is and immediately begin mitigation steps such as releasing their natural enemies into the environment.
• Know which pests might be present at which times. “Right now, for example, white fly is a key pest for tomatoes. It carries tomato yellow leaf curl virus that looks like a mineral deficiency in the plant, but has to be confirmed in lab testing. Western flower thrips can be devastating to peppers. They carry tomato spotted wilt virus, and once you see it, it’s too late.”