Sensible Ways To Stop Pests Invading Your Vegetable Crops

New pests invading your vegetable crops? Don’t let them take over — stay ahead with early detection, proactive monitoring, and innovative control solutions. By identifying threats early and using smart pest management strategies, you can protect your fields without resorting to extreme measures.

By using a combination of approaches, growers can target new pest challenges while minimizing environmental impact and promoting long-term crop health.

“The first step in integrating biological control into traditional pest management programs is to practice IPM and use pesticide wisely and only when needed. This is true for invading pests as well as endemic ones,” says Ric Bessin, Extension Professor, University of Kentucky.

Proper pesticide management, including using thresholds to determine the most effective timing for application is essential, as well as selecting insecticides that have the least impact on natural enemies.

Each grower should follow an integrated approach to determine the best management strategies for pests in their vegetable crops.

“For some situations, biological control may be a good suggestion, but some pests or some situations may not require biological control support and spending money on biological control practices may be a waste of money. Beneficial insects (predators and parasites) can be promoted in the landscape by limiting pesticide (insecticide) use, companion plantings to provide food for beneficial insects (which also adds shelter). Diversity in plants often leads to increased beneficial insect presence,” says Zach Schumm, Insect Diagnostician, Director, at Iowa State University.

Different approaches to biological control vary in their efficacy against new pest challenges. Augmentative biocontrol, which involves the regular purchase and release of natural enemies to manage pests, can be a successful approach. However, developing these solutions for new pests requires extensive research and time to fine-tune the biological and logistical aspects before they can be effectively implemented.

“There are a limited number of natural enemy species that are commercially reared and sold for this purpose, and not every pest will have a feasible biocontrol option. Good examples of augmentative biological controls that are currently available include Trichogramma parasitoid wasp species for control of many caterpillar pests and Pediobius faveolatus wasps for Mexican bean beetles,” says Ali Shokoohi, Extension Educator – IPM, UMass Vegetable Program, at University of Massachusetts Amherst.

Additionally, another approach is planting flower strips which provide nectar to help sustain natural enemies.

“Allowing some flowering plants around the outside of fields to bloom provides nectar and pollen for adult natural enemies of pests so that they can increase their reproduction,” Bessin adds. By incorporating hedgerows and brush piles into the landscape this creates refuges for natural enemies to shelter and overwinter in. “Although this strategy is not as targeted, there are usually many naturally occurring species of predators and parasitoids which can help to slow down new pests and can be effective when used in conjunction with other management practices including cultural and chemical controls,” Shokoohi says.