mostlysunny Local forecast
Mid 50s
MaineToday.com
Log In   Register Helpdownarrow
Kennebec Journal and Morning Sentinel Kennebec Journal Morning Sentinel
'Good bugs' control pests at Madison tomato greenhouse -- without chemicals
By LARRY GRARD
Staff Writer Kennebec Journal & Morning Sentinel Monday, May 21, 2007

MADISON -- Unfortunately for commercial growers of tomatoes, aphids and greenhouses have an affinity for each other.

The bad news for the aphids is, those commercial growers have identified other insects that will kill them. At Backyard Farms, those "good bugs" are on the job, every day.

The result is beneficial not only for New England's largest tomato greenhouse, it is also environmentally friendly.

"We're using elements that occur in nature," said Erika Roderick, a biological control manager at Backyard Farms. "We're not using chemicals."

Roderick makes daily rounds, inspecting the leaves of the Backyard Beauties that fill the 25-acre greenhouse. The Albion resident graduated last year from Unity College as an ecology major.

"All the flies and insects have natural enemies," Roderick said. "This is applied ecology."

As the 2002 Lawrence High School graduate explained it, the glasshouse potato and foxglove aphids are particularly harmful to greenhouse tomatoes. They suck the juices out of the plant, creating the perfect sticky atmosphere for mold growth.

The white fly and leaf miner are also harmful.

Where do they come from?

Despite Backyard Farms' cautions, some manage to fly in from the outside. Others lie dormant in the ground, where hay farming once took place on the River Road land.

"Knowledge of prior land use is key," Roderick said. "If you create the perfect climate for something, it will find its way here. Pretty much, aphids and greenhouses go hand-in-hand."

Left unharmed by pests, the Backyard Farms plants can live for up to a year. Workers have planted younger plants in between the original ones, assuring a steady supply of fruit.

Backyard Farms buys its insects from Koppert Biological Systems. Among them, parasitic wasps attack the white fly while other wasps and the gallmidge take care of the aphids.

The wasps lay eggs in the larval stage of some pest insects. That kills the pupa, Roderick said, and allows a wasp nest to grow.

Wasps lay their eggs on the adult phase of the aphid, killing it.

Roderick and her colleague in biological control, Lorelei Williams, are pleased with the work of their hired bugs.

"My partner and I are proud to say that before the hot weather has come, we've got two species of aphids under control," Roderick said.

Arie van der Giessen, the Dutch master grower for Backyard Farms, said it has been more than 20 years since commercial greenhouses used chemicals for pest control.

"It's better for the people; it's better for production," van der Giessen said. "And it's cheaper."

The company uses bumblebees, also ordered from Koppert, for pollination.

Backyard Farms is growing, harvesting and shipping its vine-ripened tomatoes throughout New England at a brisk pace. Hannaford was the first major chain to sign on, and now, Backyard Beauties can be found at Wal-Mart and Shaw's.

Tim Cunniff, the company's vice president for sales and marketing, said demand is high.

"We're growing them as fast as we can sell them," Cunniff said. "I could probably use 30 percent more to keep up with orders."

The good bugs are doing their part.

Larry Grard -- 474-9534, Ext. 343

lgrard@centralmaine.com


Reader comments

There are not yet any comments. Post your comment and it will appear here.

You must be a registered user of MaineToday.com to post a comment. Register or log in.