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Greenhouse Industry in PA Continues to Profit with IPM - January 2007

February 1, 2007

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The greenhouse industry in Pennsylvania is a growing one, with the state ranked sixth in the U.S. in greenhouse production with over $175 million per year in the production of vegetables, flowers and herbs.
“Those numbers should continue to increase because greenhouses allow growers to extend the growing season to serve urban and suburban markets with fresh, locally produced food and plants”, says Cathy Thomas, Pennsylvania IPM coordinator and biocontrol specialist.  “In addition, many farmers are shifting to greenhouse production as a minor crop to replace or supplement income lost from low market prices in other crops. Greenhouse agriculture is also a popular choice among Amish and Mennonite growers in the state because a greenhouse operation doesn't require much space and farmland is becoming harder to obtain.”

As with any type of crop, agricultural pests can be limiting factor for yield and quality and can limit a farmer’s profit. Pests can include insects, fungal disease and weeds. In the past, pesticides were the mainstay of pest control, but recently consumers are demanding crops grown with fewer pesticides. Integrated pest management (IPM) allows the production of a healthy and profitable crop while reducing, and sometimes eliminating, pesticide use.

The Pennsylvania IPM Program (PA IPM) has supported the greenhouse industry in Pennsylvania for over 15 years by providing research-based recommendations to greenhouse growers. A greenhouse IPM program follows a biointensive strategy that relies upon sanitation, mechanical barriers, biocontrol and scouting. Targeted pesticides are used only when necessary.

Biocontrol uses beneficial organisms (good bugs) to control pests. Since most pests have various parasites, diseases and predators that can kill them, beneficial organisms can be purchased and released into greenhouses as a means of control. According to Thomas, using biocontrols within an IPM program is catching on because many growers are looking for viable alternatives to using pesticides.

In a new project, Thomas will be showing vegetable greenhouse growers how a successful IPM/biocontrol system can replace traditional pesticides. Through use of biologically compatible pesticides combined with biological controls, growers can slow pesticide resistance in target pests, create a safer working environment for the family and farm workers, and maintain quality crops while increasing profitability when marketed as "pesticide free."

According to Thomas, growers will meet with an IPM/biocontrol specialist on a weekly basis starting at the beginning of the growing season. They’ll be taught pest-scouting techniques and identification, lifecycles of pests and biocontrols, and proper record keeping to monitor pest populations and determine pest thresholds. “The program will allow growers to identify pest problems specific to their location and develop a practical plan of control that fits into the production constraints of their own farm,” Thomas explains.

In addition to its support of greenhouse projects, the PA IPM program has helped to develop many resources for greenhouse growers, including a pest ‘problem solver’ web site (http://paipm.cas.psu.edu/317.htm) and the manual, “Greenhouse IPM with an Emphasis on Biocontrol”. The manual was developed to help greenhouse growers implement biocontrol and IPM. The full-color publication (number AGRS-96) contains almost 100 photos and is available as a free downloadable PDF file from Web site http://paipm.cas.psu.edu/63.htm. To order a hard copy, contact Penn State’s Publications Distribution Center toll free at 1-877-345-0691. For additional greenhouse IPM resources, see the PA IPM Program’s Greenhouse IPM Web site at http://paipm.cas.psu.edu/13.htm. For more information, contact Thomas at (717) 772-5204 or e-mail caththomas@state.pa.us.

The Pennsylvania IPM program is a collaboration between the Pennsylvania State University and the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture aimed at promoting integrated pest management in both agricultural and urban settings. For more information, contact the program at (814) 865-2839, or Web site http://www.paipm.org/. To view our archived news releases, see Web site http://paipm.cas.psu.edu/10.htm.