Leafy Greens & Pest Control

Pests like sciarid flies, aphids, and thrips are common challenges for leafy green growers. Whether you're cultivating lettuce, spinach, kale, or other leafy greens, these pests can cause significant damage if left untreated. The demand for eco-friendly pest control solutions is higher than ever, as many conventional pesticides are unsuitable for use on edible crops.

In the tables below, you'll find our recommended biological control products for each pest, along with prevention and elimination rates. Prevention helps protect your leafy greens from pest damage, while elimination focuses on effectively removing pests from your crops.

Protocol:

Monitoring & Mass Trapping

Yellow Horiver Wetstick cards and Yellow Horiver Rollertraps are essential tools for pest management in leafy green crops.

For monitoring purposes, hang one card every 20-40 square meters. If your growing space is smaller, ensure there are at least 4 cards per compartment. These sticky cards are crucial for detecting pests like thrips, whiteflies, aphids, and sciarid flies.

Check and assess the cards weekly to monitor pest populations. Additionally, perform thorough crop inspections from the soil to the canopy. Inspect the soil, stems, leaves, and joints for signs of pests. Always flip leaves to examine both upper and lower surfaces, especially targeting new and older growth where pests tend to hide.

For mass trapping, deploy Yellow Horiver Rollertraps or additional cards at a rate of 800 per acre or 100 every 500 meters square. Space them in a grid-style pattern throughout your crop at a height of 30cm. These traps effectively capture most flying insects, including aphids, thrips, whiteflies, moths, and fungus gnats, preventing them from reaching your plants.

This proactive trapping approach is your first and most crucial line of defense—stopping insect migration before it reaches your leafy greens.

Aphid Control Products

Aphid Control Products	Preventative	Elimination	Repeat Applications	Notes
Chrysopa	n/a	50 insects per square meter	Weekly or bi-weekly as needed	Aphids are extremely difficult to eradicate using biologicals only. Place this product directly in the hot spot areas.
Aphipar Ervipar	1 wasp per square meter	4 wasps per square meter	Weekly or bi-weekly as needed	Parasitic wasps will leave behind a mummy casing on the leaves. Start applying parasitic wasps as a preventative 1-2 weeks before you normally notice the aphids enter your growing space. If you are trying to eliminate aphids with parasitic wasps, ensure you know the correct aphids species you are dealing with. Parasitic wasps are species dependent.

Thrips Control Products

Thrips Control Products	Preventative	Elimination	Repeat Applications	Notes
Thripex Mini Sachets	One sachet per plant	One sachet per plant combined with Horiver Wetstick cards.	Every 3-4 weeks	Apply to the crop once plant leaves touch. This way the predatory mites can move from plant to plant. Feeds on 1st instar thrips larvae.
Thripex	100 predatory mites per meter square	300 predatory mites per meter square combined with Horiver Wetstick cards.	Weekly or Bi-weekly	Apply Thripex to the crop immediately after planting. It targets and feeds on 1st instar thrips larvae, providing early and effective control. Thripex is preferred over Swirski for this crop due to its better performance in cooler temperatures and cost-efficiency per mite, especially since these crops are frequently replaced.
Horiver Wetstick Cards	One card per 20-40 meters square	100 cards per 500 meters square	Replace cards when full	For best results place cards approx. 30 cm above the canopy.
Entomite	300 mites per square meter	n/a	Once per crop cycle	This product will not adequately control thrips as a stand alone product, as it only feeds on thrips pupae in the soil/hydroponic system.
Entonem	n/a	500,000 nematodes per meter square	Bi-weekly in high pressure thrips scenerios	This product will not adequately control thrips as a stand alone product, as it only feeds on thrips pupae in the soil/hydroponic system.

Fungus Gnat Control Products

Fungus Gnat Control Products	Preventative	Elimination	Repeat Applications	Notes
Entomite	300 mites per square meter	400 mites per square meter in combination with Horiver Wetstick cards	Every 6-8 weeks	Feeds on fungus gnat eggs and larvae.
Yellow Horiver Wetstick Cards	n/a	100 cards per 500 meters sqare	Replace cards when full	For best results place cards approx 30 cm above the canopy.
Entonem	n/a	500,000 nematodes per meter square	Re-apply bi-weekly in high pressure fungus gnat scenerios	For fast results, use in conjunction with Entomite. Works on fungus gnat larvae.

Growth Promotion & Root Disease Products

Growth Promotion & Root Disease Products	Preventative	Elimination	Repeat Applications	Notes
Microflora Pro	Start treatment with two applications 14 days apart	Apply every 14 days during periods of unfavourable conditions	Every 14-28 days, depending on crop conditions	Microflora PRO enhances plant growth by improving the availability of plant nutrients through the root system.
Trianum-P	Label	Label	Label	Trianum-P competes for space and nutrients on roots, reducing pathogen establishment. Must have a pesticide license to purchase.