August 2020 - 34

MANAGEMENT
AI-Driven IPMs Are
THE NEW NORMAL
New technology can help detect issues
sooner, reduce input costs and allow
growers to shift labor.
BY CARL SILVERBERG
O
ne of the numerous ways that the greenhouse industry mitigates
the impact of climate change is the area of pesticides. According
to Californians for Pesticide Reform (www.pesticidereform.com),
" More than 200 million pounds of agricultural pesticide active ingredients
are applied to California fields each year, of which more than 40 million
pounds are fumigants - among the most hazardous and greenhouse
gas-producing pesticides. Fumigant use has been shown to contribute
to nitrous oxide, a greenhouse gas 300 times more potent than carbon
dioxide. "
If you're not surprised by the 200 million-pound figure, learning that
fumigants are 300 times more deleterious to greenhouse gas has to be an
eye-opener.
AN IPM PLAN
CEA operators have come to embrace IPM as a preference by
consumers for pesticide-free plants. Matt Foertmeyer is the head grower
at Foertmeyer & Sons, which operates 16 acres of greenhouses at two
locations in Ohio. About five years ago, amid the negative publicity
concerning bees and neonicotinoids, Matt decided that their business
model of providing plants for school fundraisers had to be free of any
danger to children.
" Four years ago, we moved out of using pesticides and into an IPM
operation, " Foertmeyer says. " When you switch to biocontrol, you have
to change the way you approach things from reacting to a problem to
constantly getting ahead of the curve, anticipating where the problem
will be, and then applying the beneficial insects in advance of a problem.
34 AUGUST 2020 GPNMAG.COM
In the past, I would see a pocket of aphids over here and just spread
pesticides on the whole crop. Now I let the beneficials do their job and,
until they do, I make sure it doesn't get out of hand. "
With Matt, as well as other growers, it's clear that employing an IPM
program is a tactical war between the grower and the pests. You're
constantly deploying a different set of troops in anticipation of an invasion
by a different unwanted pest. If the grower reacts too early, his troops
don't have enough food to eat. If the grower deploys her troops too late,
they are overwhelmed by the enemy. Beneficials have already changed
the industry and I suspect the increase in granularity from artificial
intelligence (AI) monitoring will induce another wave of adoption allowing
applications to be better timed and more precise.
" One thrips adult can become 5,800 thrips in 50 days, " explains
Foertmeyer. " Ron Valentin of BioWorks told us when we started that
basically, we have a six-day window from the time a thrips lays an egg
until it turns into a pupa. Six days. If you miss that stage, you're into the
adult stage, but there's also the beneficial insect orius, which does a
wonderful job in controlling the adult thrips. The key is, you must have
them present in advance. It's not the same as a pesticide, which can be
sprayed in less than two hours. "
Growers who make the change find that IPM can be just as effective as
traditional pesticides and it coincides well with people demanding more
organic food and less chemically grown food. The legalization of cannabis
has only highlighted the importance of reduced pesticide use. Consumers
don't want to ingest chemicals at the same time they're opting to use
cannabis derivatives as a healthy alternative to pharmaceuticals.
Gordon Daniel Rowe III of North Creek Nursery says their
operation can finish more plants and ship more product by
incorporating AI technology into their IPM program.
http://www.pesticidereform.com http://www.GPNMAG.COM
August 2020

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of August 2020
