THE COMMITMENT TO BIOLOGICAL CONTROL OFFERS BETTER RESULTS.

The Department of Agriculture and Water of the Government of Murcia has prepared a 'Guide to phytosanitary management of tomatoes for biological pest control', which establishes the measures to be carried out by farmers who wish to implement these strategies on their farm. This document covers the preliminary measures for the preparation of the plots, to the aspects related to the introduction and release of auxiliaries.

According to the director of Farm Modernization and Agricultural Training, Angel García Lidón, The possibility of using beneficial insects in tomato crops “has been much more difficult than in other protected crops.”, like pepper in a greenhouse, in which the implementation of these techniques was much easier”.

For this reason, Lidón added that “the Ministry designed an integrated management strategy that allowed the compatibility of any action with the release of useful insects.”, in order to ensure their establishment.”.

The implementation of this strategy – stated García Lidón- “has achieved a biological balance in other lands and adjacent non-agricultural areas, which, just like the plantations, “have been enriched by the presence of this auxiliary fauna”. Since the work began, “more than 500 millones de estos enemigos naturales, que han reducido las poblaciones de distintos patógenos como la mosca blanca, el trips y más recientemente la polilla del tomate”.

El responsable autonómico destacó asimismo que hoy en día “es técnica y económicamente viable el control biológico en plantaciones de tomate cultivadas tanto bajo malla como en invernadero”. However, añadió que estos sistemas “precisan de continuas adaptaciones, por lo que es imprescindible el apoyo y asesoramiento técnico de la Administración”.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Water acquired the commitment with tomato producers to update these environmentally friendly cultivation systems and to maintain due advice on these matters.. To do this, The Plant Health Service continues to develop different tests and works on the evaluation of new alternatives that arise as a result of research and technological experimentation programs..