Greenhouse Screens Bar Whiteflies, WOOSTER, Ohio You put screens on your windows to keep out house flies. Why not do the same thing to your greenhouse for whiteflies? That’s the question a team of Israeli researchers asked, then answered, in defeating a devastating tomato disease. The team, led by Mena chem J. Berlinger of the Gilat Regional Experimental Sta tion, found that greenhouse “insect exclusion screens” are an effective way to pre vent tomato yellow leaf curl virus, or TYLCV. The screens, installed in vents and doors, keep out tobacco whiteflies, the tiny vectors of Deck Overs w/FPp Tall Hay Hauler Special m Skid Loader Models Jjl H || J. 82” Inside Fender Width Overs Also Miscellaneous "touch Bodies HUGE SAVINGS! ONLY ONE REMAINING! Save 40% On This One-Time Opportunity On A New Case IH Model 4200 Combo-Mulch Finisher With A Working Width of IST' the virus, Furthermore, an Ohio State University scientist working with the team deter mined that the screens are cost-effective, too they make economic sense for pro ducers as well as consumers and said there’s high po tential for their use in the United States. Robin Taylor of Ohio State’s Department of Ento mology said the screens have led to an enormous reduction in pesticide expenditures by Israeli greenhouse tomato growers and to millions of dollars in savings by Israeli consumers. Special Offer One Only On A New M Three-Point Hitch Blade New Rhino Model R5OO A Great, Economical Rear Blade! 7 foot adjustable slide moldboard. No wrench angle & tilt adjustments. 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Until the screens were widely used (starting in the mid-19905), tobacco white flies were the biggest pest problem of Israeli greenhouse tomatoes. Most of the spray ing that was done on the crop was done to kill whiteflies to keep them from spreading TYLCV. Yet growers still lost tomatoes and profits. Forks for .oaders. Tract Articulate! ■oaders m Brakes, Tires and Wheels In Stock, New Glencoe 14’Wide with ' Kit Mi New Affordable Field Cultivators That Level! For Perfection In Full Seed Bed Preparation You Need To See Binkley & Hurst Bros. For a Perfects 11. 100’s Sold - They Work! >v ' r ■■ p Heavy duty twisted S-tines are available for heavier soils or dense residue. Binkley & Hurst Bros. Inc. Has Lots Of Buster Bar Eq. In Stock ißk tfISHR <■ To fit Disk Harrows, Field Cultivators & More Ask for Amos Sr Lancaster Farming, Saturday, May 18,2002, Grower and Marketer- Slash Insecticide Use Israeli consumers, mean while, spent an estimated $l6 million to $32 million a year more on tomatoes from 1980 to 1990 because of lower production and higher pro duction costs than they would have if screens had been used. Now, although fungicides and spot insecticides are still needed when, say, white flies breach a break in a screen, usually a rare event overall pesticide use on Is raeli greenhouse tomatoes has plummeted: from a high during infestations of one or two sprays a day to one or two a season. And TYLCV no longer controls profits or Economically Priced For The Job They Do. Sizes As Small As 10 Foot Up To Hydraulic Fold, 28’ Models -v-- € r Heavy springs maximize roller penetration, prevent dam age. prices. “The study showed that the screening is beneficial to both the public and the pro ducer, which is actually not very common,” Taylor said. “Usually there’s a winner and a loser. In this case there are two winners. The losers, if any, are the chemical compa nies.” The biggest winners were the early adopters: the first growers using the screens. They enjoyed about six years of better than average pro duction, since other growers’ yields were still being cut by TYLCV, and much better than average prices, since Is raeli tomato demand is ine lastic (it’s not affected by the price) and overall production was down. That’s one of the study’s main mes sages, Taylor said: that the early adopters of a new technology gain the most, since once the technology is widely adopted the advantage over other growers disappears. “If you’re an early adopter with the right technology, you make a killing,” he said. So will U.S. greenhouse growers early, late or in between adopt screening? Some already have, includ ing in California and North Carolina. For now, however, the tendency is to avoid the risk. Greenhouse screening isn’t widely known, used or marketed here. It’s also a capital cost (as op posed to pesticides, an operating cost), and for some growers, raising even the modest amount of capital needed about $lO,OOO per acre may be diffi cult. Growing interest in sustainability, not to mention integrated pest man agement and organic farming, may change this. “A lot of people are concerned about making agriculture sustainable,” Taylor said. “One of the ways to do that is to reduce inputs, and one of the big inputs is pesticides. “Insect pests are serious business for greenhouse growers,” he said. “Screening and other strategies could virtually eliminate greenhouse insect pests and the need to use pesticides to control them.” 197
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