Field Notes

In a zucchini greenhouse, swirskii alone finished the season at 12.27 whiteflies per leaf against 41.97 for twice-weekly conventional spraying. The same trial measured virus, and there the spray programme was the one that lost less — so a density reduction and a disease reduction are two different purchases, and the bottle only buys the first.

Most growers release predatory mites with a vague goal of "getting rid of the pests." But eradication and ongoing protection are different strategies, requiring different species, different formats, and different expectations. One is a campaign with an end. The other is a programme that runs alongside your plants. Here's how to know which one you're actually running — and how to make it work.

The honest answer is: it depends. Predatory mites work exceptionally well under the right conditions — and fail predictably under the wrong ones. Here's how to know which situation you're in before you spend anything.

Why Orius can prey on adult thrips, how that differs from larval predation, and what flowers and plant inspections reveal about biological control.