TRENDS IN BIOCONTROLS

FROM THE FEBRUARY 2023 ISSUE OF GROWERTALKS MAGAZINE

WRITTEN BY JULIE MARTENS FORNEY

NARRATED BY BILL CALKINS

EXCERPT: With biocontrols, it’s not an either/or approach when it comes to using chemicals, but a both/and. A combination of biology and chemistry delivers great success. For instance, “you can use biologicals up front to keep pest issues in check all through a crop if the weather is just right,” Dr. Michael Brownbridge explained. “That lets you save chemistry until the last few weeks of production so you can clean things up prior to shipping.”

The flip side is true, too. “If you have high pest and disease pressures, you can use chemistry first like a battering ram to knock down the problems and follow up with biologicals to mop up and provide protection to the plant,” he continued.

When it comes to diseases, he pointed out “there’s an increasing body of scientific evidence that if you use a combination of biology and chemistry you get better disease control.”