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The Tomato Greenhouse This site provides practical information on Biological Insect Pest Management for limited-resource vegetable greenhouses in the Mid-Atlantic Region. Although tomatoes for the late winter and spring market are most common crop, peppers, lettuce, and cucumbers are also grown. Much of the information provided herein will also apply to these crops. The emphasis is on biological pest control through the use of natural enemies. Avoidance of synthetic pesticides allows growers to better market their produce to customers with concerns about pesticide reisidues. In addition, it is sometimes the only way to control insect pests that have developed resistance to pesticides.The key to successful biocontrol is to catch problems early and to identify the pest correctly. Although pest identification can be tricky, we will show practical ways to identify pests and to select an effective natural enemy. There are many suppliers of natural enemies but only a few insectaries that rear them. In some cases there are only single producers and/or suppliers of specific natural enemies. However, the mention of any specific commerical supplier or product is not an endorsement to the exclusion of similar products.
This research was supported by USDA-CSREES. Recommendations are largely based on research and experience within producing greenhouses in the mid-Atlantic region. Mark Kraemer, Ph.D. Françoise Favi, Ph.D. P.O. Box 9061 |
