Indoor agriculture is a concept where growers cultivate their crops in a bounded area, using multiple technologies and facilities so that pest Control for Indoor Agriculture Facilities can gain the real fruit of their efforts.
However, there are many technologies where multiple artificial lights are used to make their cultivation thrive; on the other hand, there are many threats that growers have to deal with so that they do not have to worry about their growing crops. One of the most obvious threats growers have to deal with is pest infestation since it is not immune to other indoor agriculture facilities.
Thus, ensuring the safety of indoor agriculture becomes critical. Pest control services in Irvine, including Brooks pest control services, offer variant solutions and strategies to deal with pest infestations, which results in the mitigation of risks that are posed by pests. Therefore, you must consider seeking help from a proficient pest control service that you trust.
Understanding the common pests –
When it comes to learning some strategies to deal with pest infestation, you should also ensure that you are aware of the common pests that play a vital role in affecting your cultivation. Many different types of common pests cause harm to your crops and make them their breeding grounds.
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Aphids
Aphids are the types of pests that grow and suck on other green saplings and cause harm to them. Aphids are usually small in size. Therefore, they are hard to find beneath the leaves, and they cause critical damage to the crops.
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Whiteflies
Whiteflies are another daunting pest that is small in size, and they have wings. Thus, they cause damage to the crops by sucking on the saps; in addition, they also spread diseases.
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Fungal Gnats
Fungal gnats are usually found near the roots of the plant because their larvae feed on the roots of the crops. These fungal gnats affect the quality of the crop by feeding the roots and leading to stunted growth.
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Spider Mites
Spider Mites are time minuscules that affect the growing crops by causing discoloration and webbing the plants.
Integrated Pest Management (IPM)
Integrated pest management is a holistic approach for growers since it has different effective strategies that help control these pests without using any chemical pesticides that can cause harm to your plants.
Key components of IPM –
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Monitoring
You should ensure that your crop field is safe and refrained from pests; you must conduct an inspection regularly so that you can detect every movement of the pest and deal with it accordingly.
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Identification
Once you are done monitoring and you have detected certain pests in your crop field, before applying any controlling method, you should know the identity of the particular pests so that you can use a respective prevention measure.
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Biological controls
If you do not want to use chemical pesticides, then you should utilize some natural predators like ladybugs, parasitic wasps, and many more. These natural predators will contribute their benefit to the environment and keep the pests away by preying on them.
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Cultural controls
In addition to biological controls, you can take further preventive measures by modifying the environmental growth of the crops. You can change the humidity levels, improve air circulation, and keep rotating the crops every season.
Implementing IPM in Indoor Agriculture.
You can start implementing IPM methods in indoor agriculture by assessing the crop field situation. Once you detect any pest in your field, identify its types and take biological control. You use some pest-resistant plants to deter the pests. Thus, keep monitoring your field regularly to see the change.
Dealing with pests in indoor agriculture can be a handful, but you should consider seeking assistance from your pest control services.