Pests strike fear in the heart of every farmer and breeder. Open-air farms are more susceptible, but vermin can find their way even into closed greenhouses. How can you best protect your crops against a pest attack?
There are many reasons for the presence of harmful organisms among crops. They might show up on their own or a farmer might unwittingly carry them onto the aquaponic farm. It is therefore essential to have a hygiene and decontamination room located before the entrance to greenhouses and growing halls. Pests can also be brought onto the farm by infestations in planting stock or seedlings from a distributor or shipper that does not comply with hygiene regulations. One of the foundations of operating an aquaponic farm is to be prepared for pests and to know what to do if they appear.
Prevention
The first requirement of protecting your crops is prevention. By carefully following preventive measures we lower the risk of pests appearing. We can install mechanical barriers and meticulously follow hygiene procedures. We can use, for example, disinfecting mats, protective clothing, gloves, coats, hand sanitizer dispensers, etc. We can intentionally choose appropriate and resistant varieties to grow. We can regularly monitor the condition of the crops and take note of any change (wilting, noticeable blemishes, changes in color or shape, the appearance of insects). It’s crucial to detect and take care of pests as soon as possible.
Physical and mechanical measures
The goal of physical and mechanical measures is to quickly detect pests, to identify them and to determine the scale of the infestation. Among these protective measures are electric insect killers, water traps or yellow and blue insect control glue strips.
Biological protection
If you have discovered an infestation of some type of pest among your crops, you can try to eliminate them by employing their natural predators (parasitoids). Examples are predatory bugs or predatory mites. We can also use pheromone traps or biological sprays containing the bacteria Bacillus thuringiensis. Use biological protection only after determining that you have a more serious infestation of pests among your crops. Biological protection leaves no residue and has little impact on the environment.
We hope that during your operation of aquaponic and hydroponic farms you don’t find yourself battling an infestation of pests. And if it does somehow happen, we wish you the victory.
