https://www.naturalinsectcontrol.com/cat.php?cat=5
Email those guys theyll tell you a bunch of stuff .
Well heres what they sent me .
2018 Crop Recommendation
MedicalMarihuana
Overview
This crop is for human consumption. Every effort should be made to grow the crop without the use of chemical insecticides, fungicides or herbicides. When plants are grown in protected environments, they can be grown year ‘round, at a faster rate and with less physical damage. The protected environment however, also tends to make it easier for the pests to become established and to get out of control due to the exclusion of natural enemies from the surrounding environment.
Prior to planting
The greenhouse or growth chamber must be adequately cleaned of old plant material, obvious fungal residue and non-essential apparatus. A thorough cleaning with a detergent is highly recommended.
The climate must be appropriate for growing conditions. Stressed plants are much more susceptible to fungal pathogens and insect pests. Care must be taken to ensure that air circulation is efficient but not too intense, as a strong wind passing through the plant causes displacement of the “humidity umbrella” that the plant normally forms by transpiration. If the plant surface becomes desiccated, pests such as the two-spotted spider mite will thrive.
Before placing the crop, put a few bush beans in pots throughout the greenhouse. The beans will attract any pests that were missed by the clean-up, allowing you to redo the clean-up or use a more thorough technique.
Getting Started
When the pots are first watered, a soil mite such as Stratiolaelaps scimitus (Stratos) should be applied to the soil surface at a rate of 10 mites per square foot. They can be broadcast over the spaced out pots or trays. These soil mites will control fungus gnat larvae in the root zone, leading to a faster growth rate and healthier plants. Both mites also feed on pupating thrip larvae, helping thrip management by breaking the reproductive cycle.
Yellow sticky traps should be applied at least 1 trap for every 500 square feet. Care must be taken to ensure that the height of the traps does not exceed the height of the plants. Traps higher than the plants will not trap a representative sample of thrips.
Spider Mites
Spider mites are the most common and serious pest. This is due to the environment, plant stress and the plant itself. In general, spider mites hate high humidity. We actually manage our spider mite culture on bean plants just by misting them. If you are not battling botrytis or similar molds, try misting the affected areas on a regular schedule for a few days.
Prevention of spider mites is possible by applying Amblyseius fallacis at a rate of 2 mites per square foot. This generalist mite predator evenly establishes itself throughout the crop, preventing spider mite establishment under normal conditions. Hot spot outbreaks should be treated with Phytoseiulus persimilis at a rate of 1 mite per 100 spider mites for control within 1 week. Fallacis and persimilis are compatible and do not interfere with each other. Fallacis does not do well on webbing while persimilis specializes on it.
Stethorus punctillum is a tiny black beetle that thrives in low humidity situations. If you are unable to manage the climate effectively and the conditions for spider mite are extreme, Stethorus could save the crop. They should be applied at a rate of 0.1 per square foot, in extreme cases, or 0.01 per foot in moderate cases. These beetles find spider mites by smell and quickly move to new infestations, leaving behind their eggs and larvae to finish the job.
Another strategy to try is using bush bean plants amongst the crop. In some crops, such as tomato, this is a very effective strategy for pulling spider mites off the crop. Bean plants are also easy to monitor, as they show spider mite damage within hours. If the beans are moderately successful, apply persimilis to them to create a “banking” system, generating more persimilis that will move into the crop. If the beans are highly successful, carefully remove them and the spider mites and plant some more beans.
Aphids
Almost every plant gets aphids if the conditions are right. Over fertilizing leading to rapid, soft growth is what aphids look for. In general, very few aphids cause permanent damage, but their excrement, honeydew, can lead to sooty mold. If you have aphids, you must eliminate any ants first. Ants “farm” aphids, feeding on the honeydew. They will protect the aphids from predation and will actively move aphids around to “greener pastures” within your crop.
Once the ants are gone, aphids can easily be controlled by using Aphidoletes aphidimyza at a rate of 0.01 per square foot, weekly, until the aphids are eliminated. If you have a history of aphids, continue at this rate weekly for the duration of the crop.
Thrips
Thrips cause damage that is similar to spider mites. There is a subtle difference however. Thrips tend to scrape the leaf surface while spider mites pierce the leaf tissue and extract the chlorophyll. Thrips are tiny pests, capable of flying, although quite poor flyers. They are attracted to yellow and blue sticky traps, which when used in sufficient quantity can be effective management tools. Adding a cotton ball so you can drip vanilla or almond extracts can increase the trapping by a factor of 10.
Biological controls are limited. The predatory mite Amblyseius cucumeris is the best choice. These mites attack the first and second instar larvae. If enough cucumeris are present they are extremely effective, as they can sense the thrip emerging from the leaf, and wait for the thrip to stick its head out, biting it off. The presence of Stratos in the soil will ensure that the thrips cannot effectively cycle within your facility
Whitefly
Whitefly is not a common pest, but, pests tend to adapt, so we should discuss them briefly. Whitefly are a close relative to the aphid. Both of them suck. Both can quickly create excessive honeydew that will lead to sooty mold. If any whitefly is seen on the yellow sticky cards, begin applying the parasitic wasp Encarsia formosa at a rate of 0.02 per square foot, weekly.
Summary
This is a difficult crop as the plants have not been bred for protected climates. As a result, the plants are usually in some state of stress. Do what you can to minimize the stress by aggressively humidification and careful watering and nutrient balance.
The application of the soil mites is a critical first step, ensuring healthy root development by controlling fungus gnats and thrip management, by predating on the pupating thrips.
Many thanks to Applied Bionomics for these receommendations.
Spider mite is the traditional pest and can be prevented with the predatory mite fallacis. Outbreaks are best treated with persimilis and severe infestations due to poor climate are best dealt with by applying the beetle, Stethorus. The use of bush beans as monitoring/trapping plants should be investigated in this crop. If the crop ends with a spider mite problem, apply more Stratos to the floor area, focusing on cracks and any other breaks in the floor where the spider mites overwinter. The Stratos will feed on the dormant spider mites, reducing their return numbers significantly.
There is little you can do to prevent thrips. If they become a pest, apply cucumeris to the plants and apply vanilla or almond to the sticky traps by using cotton balls.
Thank you to Applied Bionomics for these recommendations
