One of the growers i visit in Northern Germany has builded 3 greenhouses for about 4 years ago. She and her husband decided they don’t want to expose themselves nor their workers to chemicals. So that means no spraying at all.
Therefore they use predators, they seeded a mix of grass and clover under the table tops. And yes, it functions very nice. No problems with pests, a better climate (moisture buffer), so hardly problems with mildew. Therefore they also use modern varieties, that can handle mildew and several other diseases that may be an issue in strawberries.
And yes, about 4 weeks after planting the first aphids on the grass the table tops. Very few aphids on strawberry plants. But, also predators: predated aphids by Aphidius, Lacewing, Ladybug and Aphidoletes.
Very interesting to see how a population of predators builds up by just stopping to spray.
