Reducing Reliance on Pesticides
Growers have long relied on pesticides to protect their crops, but long term options for new chemistry are diminishing due to decreased investment by chemical companies.
The nursery industry has secured minor use permits for appropriate pesticides to be used in the near future, but these are a short term solution.
With this level of use comes more exposure to continual reviews by government regulators, and adverse effects can mean restricted use or the chemical may be deregistered altogether.
This Nursery Paper looks at the need for nurseries to transition from using pesticides to applying Integrated Pest Management (IPM) principles to future-proof production.