Researcher, Ph.D.
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In a high density strawberry crop grown in sod covered with plastic mulch, evaluate the toxicity of bioinsecticides for controlling tarnished plant bugs and strawberry blossom beetles and of bioherbicides for controlling weeds in and between crop rows.
From 2014 to 2018
Project duration
Fruit production
Activity areas
Pest, weed, and disease control, Organic farming
Services
This project will help Québec growers benefit from the flourishing organic food market.
Growing Forward II
This project will formulate multiple independent, but potentially synergistic, strategies to control Spotted Wing Drosophila.
Researcher: Annabelle Firlej
Exclusion nets have proven to be effective against nearly all of these insect pests, which means that it’s possible to develop apple growing practices in Québec that are not only neonicotinoid free, but also devoid of all pesticides (including acaricides, given that mite problems are a consequence of broad-spectrum insecticide use). Although the net exclusion microsystem studied in Québec since 2012 has demonstrated its effectiveness in controlling insect pests, some issues remain to be studied before it can be unreservedly recommended. Among these are the handling times for the nets, i.e., installation/removal and opening/closing, and the system’s profitability and durability over the long haul for various cultivars.
Researcher: Mikaël Larose
The project was conducted at IRDA’S Organic Agriculture Innovation Platform. Strawberries (Cleary cultivar) were produced in beds covered with black plastic mulch.
Researcher: Carl Boivin