Abstract
Currently, many farms in Korea use facility horticulture to grow crops, and various sensors and control systems are installed to grow crops in facility horticulture. However, in the case of control, it is difficult to eradicate internal pests such as soil by spraying directly on crops. In this study, we used the predatory natural enemy Skimmitus mites to control pests that harm the roots of crops in the soil. To conduct the experiment, strawberry, tomato, and cucumber farms were selected to spray the predatory natural enemy Skimmitus mites and measure the distribution of pests in and out of the soil. The duration of the experiment is 8 weeks each for strawberries and tomatoes, and 4 weeks for cucumbers. The distribution of pests in the soil was measured through an electron microscope by collecting soil at a specific point, and the distribution of pests outside the soil was measured by pests attached to a sticky flat trap. As a result of measuring the distribution of pests in the soil, it was found that strawberry farms decreased by 97.6% and tomato farms by 96.4% in week 8 compared to week 1. Cucumber farms decreased by about 98.7% in week 4 compared to week 1. As a result of measuring the distribution of pests in the flat trap, strawberry farms decreased by about 88.9% in week 8 compared to week 1, and tomato farms decreased by about 87.8%. For cucumber farms, it decreased by about 78.1% in week 4 compared to week 1. This is judged to be the result of pest populations introduced from outside the greenhouse collected in flat traps.
Figures & Tables
Fig. 1. Point of gather soil and installed trap.
