THE GREEN SPOT 



Cookbook Methodology 



Blo-control certainly Isn't a no-bralner. Your crop 

 scouting must continue on a weekly basis, as 

 you should be doing with your chemical regimen al- 

 ready. A lot of thought must be put Into a properly 

 initiated and executed program. And If you need help 

 with this, every reputable bto-control supplier can give 

 you their recommended rates for the use of their 

 products. 



The Green Spot uses a very well-defined set of 

 steps to make a recommendation. Keeping these pro- 

 tocols In mind, you'll need to be able to answer the 

 following questions If you should call us with a pest 

 problem. 



1. What crops are you growing? An answer could 

 be, "Impatlens." 



2. How and where Is It being grown? Again, a 

 possible answer: "In soilless media-filled pots In 

 a poly tunnel." 



3. What Is the size of the growing area? "3,000 

 square feet." 



4. What pests are you dealing with? "Western 

 flower thrlps and fungus gnats." 



5. Are these present in an area more than or less 

 than 70% of the total growing areas described In 

 question three? "Less than." 



6. If less than 70%, what percentage is affected? 

 "About 40%." 



7. If over three feet tall, what Is the height of the 

 actual foliage portion of your plants? "They're 

 under three feet tall." (If they were over three 

 feet In foliage height, the number of levels — ^three 

 feet per level — would be used later In the math 

 calculations. See below.) 



8. How heavy is the Infestation? "Four thrips and 12 



fungus gnats per one trap In a 250-square foot 

 area per week" (which most suppliers would 

 consider a medium/light to medium/medium 

 Infestation). 



At this point, we'll do some simple math, using our 

 current predetermined formulas. Multiply three thou- 

 sand square feet times 40% (1200 square feet) times 

 the number of three-foot levels (one) divided by nine 

 to come up with the number of yards (this would be 

 square or cubic, depending on the number of levels). 

 The answer Is 133 yards. We would recommend the 

 use of two organisms: Orlus Insldlosus (OI\, a thrlps- 

 predatory true bug, and Hypoaspls miles (Hm), a 

 thrips/fungus gnat-predatory, soil-dwelling mite. For 

 the Infestation levels identified, we would suggest a 

 rate of three Ol and 130 Hm per yard — 399 and 

 17,290 respectively. (These rates are due for revision 

 In 1998.) Hm should be doubled If the floor under 

 the benches Is porous enough (I.e., Is of gravel, is 

 covered with weed cloth, etc.) to harbor thrlps and 

 fungus gnats. Both Ol and Hm should be released ev- 

 ery other week, two to four times. This should allow 

 the predators to quasl-establish and gain the upper 

 hand. 



Despite definite rates and regardless of your ap- 

 proach, formal scouting Is extremely Important. Even 

 with the cookbook methodology available for all pest 

 control products (Including blo-controls), awareness, 

 flexibility, and reactive-ness are fundamental to ail 

 pest control forms. 



Mike Cherim, president of The Creen Spot, P3 Priest Road, 

 Nottingham, New Hampshire 03290-6204, can be reached at 

 603-942-8925 



Laughton's Garden Center Inc. 



Cal Laughton, Florist 



Distributors of Nursery Overwintering Blankets 



WHOLESALE AND RETAIL NURSERY 



NURSERY STOCK • ANNUALS • PERENNIALS • FERTILIZERS • INSECTTICIDES 



1-800-692-7752 

 155-165 Princeton Blvd., No. Chelmsford, MA 01863 



CHARLES LAUGHTON. PRESIDENT • DAVE POLGREEN, NURSERY SALES 



THE PLANTSMAN 



