Wednesday, August 10, 2016: 4:45 PM
Macon Room (Sheraton Hotel Atlanta)
Organic vegetable production is increasing in the South with many beginning and experienced farmers growing crops in the high tunnels. Although high tunnels are useful for season extension, they also extend the life cycle of insect pests that complete generations rapidly inside the protected structures. In Alabama, organic vegetable production is severely challenged by insect pests that can cause 30-50% direct crop loss or contamination of produce if uncontrolled. Therefore, in organic farming, pest prevention is certainly better than cure. This paper describes a pest exclusion system suitable for high tunnel producers. The authors evaluated 0 (check), 30, 40, and 50 percent knitted shade cloth in the laboratory for their potential to stop large insect pests of tomatoes using high tunnel pest exclusion models. Six types of shade cloth were installed on the side- and end-walls to get optimum pest exclusion. We focused on leaffooted bugs (Leptoglossus spp.) and moths since they are universal problems for producers. A 40 or 50 percent knitted shade cloth from Poly-Tex (MN) and Green-Tek (WI) significantly reduced leaffooted bug numbers and protected vegetables placed inside the model. Large moths were not able to penetrate the fabric. This paper will end with a discussion of on-farm successes with the HTPE system.