Title : The effectiveness of new plant protection means in organic greenhouse pest management
Abstract:
Conventional and new means were tested in order to elaborate a pest management system for organic production in greenhouses. The studied pests were the most important insects for a large range of plants: aphids (Hemiptera: Aphididae), mites, greenhouse whitefly (Trialeurodes vaporariorum) and diseases downy mildew and powdery mildew. Our direction of the research was optimization of preparation and characterization of plant root and seeds extracts as natural insecticides and fungicides in greenhouses. A first stage the studies were focused on optimization of Reynoutria sachalinensis extracts for organic pests’ management. This was done using Minitab 19 software applying different ratios of ethanol: water, temperature and contact time. The best extract was mixed with different concentrations of surfactant in aim to obtain an efficient composition of the system applied for pest management. In the present work, the polyphenolic extracts from leaves and stems of Reynoutria sachalinensis were studied as antifungal agents on powdery mildew disease of cucumber and tomatoes. Efficacy of Recol (new formulation – chelate and Reynoutria sachalinensis plant extract) was followed to prevent the powdery mildew. It has been shown that the addition of surfactant based on fatty acid ethyl esters obtained from natural oils can improve the fungistatic and fungicidal effect of Reynoutria sachalinensis extracts in greenhouses. The possibility to use Funecol (liquid copper fungicide, 8% metallic copper) was estimated against downy mildew. During three consecutive years we noted synergistic effects of fungicides Funecol and Recol in control of downy and powdery mildew. The best result was obtained using mixture of Funecol 4 l/ha and Recol 8 l/ha. The Pelecol - microemulsion (fatty acids esters) was tested against mites and moths. Pelecol has been shown to be effective in controlling mites. It was concluded that the addition of surfactant based on fatty acid ethyl esters obtained from natural oils can improve the fungistatic and fungicidal effect of Reynoutria sachalinensis extracts in greenhouses.
