What makes the difference. Or how to do biological control.
One of the items that works good is, to focus on the whole ecosystem in and around the strawberries:
– in the greenhouse – for example on the soil
– around the greenhouse – close by
– in a wider area around the greenhouse
Below you see some pictures of the production sight of a German growers. For about 5 years she decided to spray at all on the strawberries. So no chemical treatment, neither a biological or organic spraying. Not against pests not agains diseases.
She had the guts to start that way. I respect this dicission of her. And it works.
Spidermites: no problem at all – lots of natural predators (like Andersoni) in the grass / cloaver below the table tops and quite a lot of Feltiella.
Aphids: In the spring allready aphidius kinds in the grass and a lot of hoverflies later in the spring.
Thrips: comercial Cucumeris and Orius
White fly: normally from a predator that looks like Encarsia
Grass / Cloaver – next to a good banker and source for predators, they influence the climate quite strong. Especially in hot summers the temperature drops and the humidity is a bit higher. This influences the growth and the mildew pressure.
At the end of the pictures two pictures that look like thrips, but it is not thrips damage. You can see very good that if you zoom in, the brown spots are one spot, and not the small lines caused by thrips.
