Author Topic: IPM - Integrated Pest Management in the Tropics  (Read 342 times)

agroventuresperu

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IPM - Integrated Pest Management in the Tropics
« on: September 27, 2022, 08:59:01 PM »
Hey can anyone please recommend some good host plants for beneficial insects? I need something that is cheap and easy to find in Peru that I can broadcast seed all over the place to encourage beneficials like parasitic wasps. I don't know much about IPM other than most plants in the Apiaceae family have the flowers that such wasps use as their nectar source. Not sure what other plants are beneficial. I'm sure IPM in the tropics is a lot more complex than in temperate areas simply due to the shear biodiversity of tropical equatorial climates.

pagnr

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Re: IPM - Integrated Pest Management in the Tropics
« Reply #1 on: September 30, 2022, 10:31:11 AM »
Oregano seems pretty popular with wasps along with Parsley ( Apiaceae ). Possibly others in the mint family such as Basil, Perilla ( Shisho) etc.
Chia might be another, seed is available Chia seed, not too expensive. Seems to germinate better with rain than irrigation.
Buckwheat is another possibility, unhulled kernels will grow.
You may consider other sprout seeds, relatively inexpensive. Red Clover etc.
Local native species would also be worth investigating, plants that can substitute for those above and promote local beneficials.

edit Salvias worth looking at, may be local species.
« Last Edit: October 01, 2022, 02:31:19 AM by pagnr »