Bug vs bug - working with natural enemies

Cornflowers attract parasitoid wasps.

Encouraging beneficial insects into the crop can save time and money, avoid negative side effects, and prevent development of resistance.

Most growers will be familiar with the term Integrated Pest Management (IPM). IPM is neither chemical focussed nor organic, but instead chooses the most appropriate management method based on pests and diseases found within the crop.

Strategies can include cultural controls, such as ensuring hills are intact to protect developing tubers from potato tuber moth, and controlling weeds that act as alternative hosts for pests and diseases. They can also be biological, using beneficial insects or pathogens that target pest species. IPM does not rule out chemicals, it just utilises them in a focussed way, supporting other strategies.

In Issue 07 of PotatoLink magazine, Ryan Hall explains how the aim of IPM is to bring these controls together to work in a collaborative way.