New crop protection products for CEA

Added on 22 February 2023

Tags

The challenge of controlling pests and diseases in the greenhouse is ever evolving, but suppliers are on top of it. When there are new pests and diseases, there are also new crop protection products — and research to back up their efficacy.

Raw materials for crop protection products, along with many other goods and services, have been affected by global supply chain disruptions recently. However,
the outlook is positive for 2023.

“I see things stabilizing and getting better, or at least not continuing to go up as rapidly on the conventional chemistry side,” says Dr. Carlos Bográn, OHP Senior Manager of Technical Services. “We all have had to adjust sourcing and long-term plans due to supply chain issues. The increased demand for ‘green’ products may continue to drive prices for biological alternatives, which likely have been undervalued in the market until recent years.”

Market Updates

Recently, OHP has focused on evaluating the compatibility of its products with micro- and macro-organisms used in the biological control of plant pests and diseases.

“The best preparation greenhouse growers can do is to know in advance what pests or diseases are likely to affect their key crops and develop plant health monitoring programs to prevent issues from occurring in the first place,” Bográn says. “This enables growers to use several tools instead of relying on a silver bullet that may not be readily available during the growing season.”