By: Benjamin Gardner
As sustainability and eco friendly initiatives take hold in large-scale agricultural applications, new Integrated Pest Management (IPM) inventions and protocols are at the forefront of innovation and discovery. Two spotted spider mites, Tetranychus urticae and Broad mites Polyphagotarsonemus latus, are two significant pest problems that have plagued farms and nurseries for decades. Common and less environmentally impactful pesticides, such as imidacloprid are ineffective against mites. Established populations require significant applications of foggers such as Pyrethrum that fail to kill unhatched eggs.
Figure 1: A significant spider mite infestation
A major player in up-and-coming organic farms are simple cloth sachets neatly hanging from tomato stems and tree trunks alike. Bioline, a sibling company under industry giant Syngenta has recently released an easy to use and organic solution to mite control that virtually eliminates the need for harmful chemicals and pesticides. The sachets slowly release spider mite predator, Ineoseiulus califonicus, and Amblyseius andersoni that are extremely effective in preventing the establishment of mite populations.
Figure 2: A mini sachet attached to a cucumber plant
When considering pest solutions, cost, effectiveness, and danger to environmentally are three of the most important variables to take into account, with most farmers having to prioritize only two of those variables. The environment and health of the applicator are often thrown to the wayside in exchange for a cheap and effective pesticide. Application and use of the sachets is straightforward: simply hang a package from each tree of every six feet in row crops at the beginning of season. As mites inevitably find their way into a crop, the predators will travel out of micro pores in the cloth and attack the population. These predators are known for their tolerance of a wide range of temperatures and ability to keep a wide range of mites at an acceptable level. This biological is most effectively used when set up as a proactive, before a colony can become established. If no mite populations are present, the predators will feast on pollen. Most importantly however, mite predators will not affect the health of the plant they occupy.
Figure 3: A spider mite predator (left) attacking a common mite (right)
They are not effective in controlling large populations of mites. Based upon mite and pest occurrences, simply replace the sachet with a new one every 2-4 weeks. Syngenta currently offers 200 sachets at $184. With growing concern over chemical use and the health of the environment and people, biological such as those offered by Syngenta offer a time and cost effective solution to spraying and fogging.