What types of pests can be controlled using natural methods in an organic farm setting?

Biological control can be used against all types of pests, including vertebrates, plant pathogens and weeds, as well as against insects, but the methods and agents used are different for each type of pest. Bugs and insects are a fact of life on any farm. Some insects are beneficial, feed on bad bugs and provide valuable pollination. But other insects pose a threat.

Pests can damage the appearance of fruits and vegetables, making those products difficult or impossible to sell. Worse yet, some damage caused by a pest can kill a crop completely. Conventional farmers spray toxic pesticides to eliminate pests.

Organic

farmers use alternative strategies to reduce and control pests without the use of synthetic inputs.

Farmers in Kerala have formulated organic pesticides to control various pests, such as borers, insects and caterpillars. The popular decoction, “Neemastram”, is made with cow urine, manure and neem leaf paste, while the “Brahmastram” is formulated by combining fruits such as custard apple, papaya, guava and pomegranate leaves with neem leaves and cow urine. Crop rotation is an effective way to keep pests from getting used to the types of plants being grown. The method consists of alternating the species of crops that are cultivated each year.

In addition to controlling pests, this cultivation method also increases soil fertility. Intercropping involves the simultaneous cultivation of two or more crops in the same field. When different plant species are cultivated in the same field, there is a definite distance between the crops of the same species. Therefore, it is efficient at keeping pests away from your target host plant.

This is the method of using pests to combat pests. Some farmers in the West have introduced predatory insects, such as ladybugs or mites, which kill other pests to avoid damaging crops. Another main reason for switching to organic pesticides is the way they allow farmers to convert agricultural products into natural pesticides and do not affect their health or harm crops. While it is common for most Indian farmers to use neem as a natural pesticide, farmers in Nepal spray their vegetables and fruits with “Zhol Mol”, an organic liquid pesticide made from neem leaves, timur (a Nepalese spice), garlic, cattle urine and water.

This chapter highlights the principles and strategies for crop protection in organic agriculture, the cultural practices adopted, the active substances allowed to suppress pests, and the impacts on fauna and floral biodiversity. Date palm services that are important in pest and disease management include irrigation management, field sanitation, weed removal, organic fertilization, pruning old fronds, pruning old fronds, cutting the base of fronds, removing shoots, pollination, thinning fruit, removing thorns, bagging fruit and harvesting. The United States Congress passed the Organic Food Products Act in 1990, while the European Union (EU) established the first regulations on organic agriculture in 1991 and, that same year, the Codex Alimentarius Commission officially recognized organic agriculture. Strengthen the participatory research approach with organic farmers and promote citizen science to optimize existing practices and develop new techniques.

Ryan's farm mainly grows vegetables and microgreens (which are grown indoors in a greenhouse), as well as flowers. Pest control in organic agriculture is achieved through the use of appropriate cultivation techniques, biological control and natural pesticides (mainly extracted from plants or animals). The most commonly used as insecticides are microorganisms, natural pyrethrins, rapeseed oil and paraffin; the most commonly used as fungicides are copper compounds, sulfur and microorganisms. The benefits of organic agriculture for the ecosystem include the conservation of soil fertility, the storage of carbon dioxide, the reduction of fossil fuels, the preservation of the landscape and the preservation of biodiversity.

Identifying insect pests and their natural enemies is an important step in any pest control program. However, compost can be disinfected from these larvae and other insect pests using physical or chemical methods allowed in the organic agriculture system. The four principles of pest management in the organic agriculture system, namely, prevention, avoidance, monitoring and suppression, will be discussed in this chapter with special reference to the date palm as a case study. While most farmers today rely on chemical pesticides, they cannot foresee the impact of such pesticides on the environment.

Crop rotation, cover crops, and other weed management techniques, such as mulching, help conventional and organic farmers control weeds in their crops. Immediate treatment of wounds and trimmed surfaces with beeswax or any other substance allowed in organic farming to hide the kairomonas (smell emitted by the palm) that attract the red weevil of palm trees and other palm pests. .