Pest Management in Organic Field vegetables in Temperate Areas

Summary

Preventative measures and the creation of resilient growing systems are key parts of pest management practice in organic field vegetable production (see also chapter 1). Soil improvement, crop rotation, site selection, habitat management, variety choice, timing of planting and plant spacing are all considered before planting in order to avoid the most detrimental pest problems. Due to the huge variety of vegetable crops and their associated pest insects, specific tailored approaches are necessary. The effects of cultural practices to reduce pest outbreaks, such as weed control, appropriate irrigation, suitable fertilization, the use of mulches, and adjusted harvest times have been investigated during the last few years. For some crops (e.g. cabbage and carrot (Finch and Collier, 2000)), a holistic pest control strategy, which combines preventative and direct control measures, is available, whereas there are still huge knowledge gaps for other crops. For example, in lettuce production, pest management under organic conditions still relies heavily on direct pest control measures. However, direct control methods using bio-insecticides can have adverse side-effects on beneficial arthropods and thus destabilize the system and lead to outbreaks of secondary pests. Within this chapter we describe strategies and methods for pest control in organic field vegetable production that are available currently. The chapter is mainly based on on information published in scientific journals and in technical leaflets, as well as on the experiences of advisors. After some general remarks about approaches to pest management, our description of pest management strategies is organized by crop. At the end of the chapter, in Table xx, we summarize strategies and control methods for the most important pests.