Being a wealth gardener who has gone through several seasons, I yield to the fact I have severally struggled in managing the health of crops. Among all the pests I have battled with, the worst is the Western Flower Thrips abbreviated as WFT. These small bugs can seriously affect numerous crops such as tomatoes, peppers, and strawberries. Their feeding habits cause digging and scarring the fruits, uneven surface discoloration and even spread plant virus diseases, an instance being the Tomato Spotted Wilt Virus.
That is why, through the years of working at WFT, I realized that this task similarly may not be addressed only with a focus on cultural methods and at the same time cannot be solved only with the help of biological solutions. I want to show my way on this path and also concentration on the stories of successful microbes agriculturists.
Understanding the Enemy: There are other insects which are of great economical importance and they include:Western flower thrips
Although Western flower thrips is only 1. 5-2. 5mm in length, it poses a great threat to crops. These pests suck on plant fluids by puncturing it with hard mouthparts. The damage appears in the form of ‘silvering’, ‘scarring’ and growth deformities particularly on the leaves and fruits. Worse still their wasps can spread viruses, which makes the losses even higher than what has been mentioned above.
Many years ago, soon after I started gardening, I used chemical insecticides for western flower thrips to control these pests on plants. Nonetheless, I realised that these chemicals had the undesirable effect of killing not only the thrips’ natural predators in my garden but also contributing to the phenomenon of thrips’ pesticide resistance. That has led me to look for better and more environmentally friendly solutions to every question I faced.
Cultural Practices:
Thus, the foundation of Integrated Pest Management consists of recognizing pests as diseases and understanding that wide eradication is impossible.
Cultural practices remain as the fundamentals of any IPM plan that may be implemented. Thus, if this pattern is disrupted, the chances of WFT and similar pests being able to survive become slim. Here are some practices I’ve adopted:
1. Sanitation:Maintenance of gardens by frequently clearing the debris and the weeds found in the garden minimizes the breeding of thrips. I also ensure that plants bought from the nurseries are checked to eliminate the presence of thrips in a new plant.
2. Crop Rotation:Thrips do not have the same large population increases if their food source of plants is not continually around. Since I offer crops a rotating cycle, I hinder their living cycle and limit the probability of parasitic outbreaks.
3. Trap Cropping:When it comes to pests I’ve tried something called trap crops; these include planting crops like marigolds and they attract the thrips way from the crops we intend to grow. I can then easily control the thrips once they have been congregated in the trap plants, whenever they are.
4. Reflective Mulches:Another useful tool has been reflective mulches which has been useful. These mulches reduce the chances of the thrips’ ability to locate their host plants because of the confusion that the mulches create on them.
These cultural practices thus provide the framework of my strategy, though they are sometimes insufficient to restrain WFT’s growth, particularly during optimum growing conditions. That is when I resort to using western flower thrips for biological control.
Enter Beauveria Bassiana: The book, A Natural Ally: The Rosa Parks’ Story, is a historical fiction novel that revolves around the life of the civil rights activist, Rosa Parks.
Biological control enhancements, in this particular, is where Beauveria bassiana shines. This is a naturally occurring fungus that is effective for controlling a broad spectrum of insect pests among them being the western flower thrips. For example, I have been applying Beveria WP, biopesticide that is made from Beauveria bassiana in my garden for the last few seasons.
Beauveria bassiana infects the thrips through their exoskeleton and thus operates in its management. After entering the body of the insect it multiplies and the insect is killed in the process. The best part? It is able to do this without inflicting losses on beneficial insects, plants or nature in general.
That is why it is pertinent for me to consult Dr. Linda Martinez, a microbial agricultural specialist at the Sustainable Farming Institute, to hear her opinion on Beauveria bassiana. She said, “Beauveria bassiana is by far the best tool for IPM because it works well against most target pests, compatible with other non-chemical control methods, and it does not have the problems of chemical-pesticide resistance. ”
Another vocal was Dr. Robert Evans an expert from the Department of Agricultural Sciences of Greenfield University as he said: “Organic farming techniques like beers use chemicals such as Beveria WP to strike the balance between pests and their natural enemies, in a way that is sustainable and not unnerving in any way to support a stronger ecosystem to fund the elegant farming system. ”
How to Use Beauveria Bassiana and How: Beauveria Bassiana Is Used in Pest Management & in Trapping Them You Have to Learn
From my experience, here are some tips for getting the most out of Beauveria bassiana:Here, based on my experience, are some guidelines on the proper way of maximizing the effects of Beauveria bassiana:
– Timing is Key:When populations are first detected the product must be applied. Preventive control is recommended once in a while, to avoid proliferation of the pest in the society.
– Coverage: The under surface of the leaves should be closely cleared since thrips often scuttle in those parts of the plants. This increases the probability of the fungus to infect the pests that in turn ensures that there is control of pests in the population.
– Reapplication: However, Beauveria bassiana does not remain in the plant like chemical pesticides hence the need to use as advised especially when there has been rainfall/ irrigation.
– Storage: Another reminder is to ensure that the product remains effective which is why it should be stored in a cool and dry environment. Heat and moisture are enemies of fungal spores and these factors should not get close to the roach eggs since they can minimalize the performance of the fungal spores.
Conclusion: A Sustainable Path Forward
In fact, controlling Western Flower Thrips does not necessarily have to use chemicals, means and methods that are prejudicial to the environment. In using cultural practices we can use effective and non-toxic means like the Beauveria bassiana to control pests and at the same time improve on the health of our environment. In my years, I have also learned that with this method of pest control, not only is there a decrease in the number of pests but the plants themselves are healthier, bumper crops.
Faith in organic gardening and soil management yes, but what organic gardener does not enjoy the ability to have a biological such as Beveria WP insecticides for western flower thrips in the weapons arsenal. As we progress to new problems on farming, it is solutions like the one above that will assist in growing healthy crops while still respecting the earth’s natural resources.