IPM inside the greenhouse
Closed environments can amplify pest outbreaks when natural enemies are absent. IPM combines monitoring, biological control, cultural practices, and selective chemistry to keep pests below economic thresholds.
Monitoring workflow
- Deploy yellow sticky cards for flying insects (whitefly, thrips, aphids).
- Inspect undersides of lower leaves weekly — pests colonize there first.
- Record pest counts per plant or per square meter for trend analysis.
- Identify beneficial insects before spraying — lacewing larvae and parasitized aphid mummies indicate biocontrol activity.
Biological control agents
- Encarsia formosa — parasitoid wasp for greenhouse whitefly.
- Phytoseiulus persimilis — predatory mite for spider mites.
- Amblyseius swirskii — generalist predator for thrips and whitefly eggs.
Chemical compatibility
Many fungicides and broad-spectrum insecticides kill beneficials. Use biorational products (spinosad, Bt, horticultural oils) when possible and reserve harsh chemistry for confirmed threshold breaches.