"Bloomia vs. pests? Not anymore"
Bloomia is fighting pests with out-of-the-box thinking. In fact, they’re not doing the fighting at all. They’re letting other insects wipe out the pests for them.
For years, Bloomia has used biology, not chemistry, to win the battle against infestations. They use Integrated Pest Management (IPM) to manage diseases, insects, weeds and other pests without using any toxic chemicals or sprays.
IPM works in three areas: prevention, monitoring and intervention. Bloomia prevents pests from building up by combining and optimizing different strategies, such as water management, plant nutrition and crop rotation. They also monitor their crops daily during the entire growth cycle, looking for pests and insects. Knowing what kinds of insects are in the greenhouses and at what quantities helps them determine if, when and how intervention should occur. That’s when the gloves come off.
If intervention is needed, biological methods are used to preserve crops with minimal effects on the environment. Here are a few examples of the fights taking place in Bloomia's greenhouses.
Round 1 – Aphids vs. Micro-Wasps
Aphids are tiny pests with huge appetites. They feed on every part of the plant: its juices, leaves, stems, buds, flowers, and even the roots. To fight these mini-monsters, we send in the micro-wasps. These airborne warriors literally sting their victims and lay eggs inside them. After a couple of days, the affected aphid turns into a mummy. Inside the now-dead aphid, a new parasitic wasp emerges to lay more eggs and continue the cycle. These wasps are tiny and do not go after or sting humans.
Round 2 - Spider Mites vs. Mighty-Mites
Spider Mites might be better called Vampire Mites. They live in colonies, mostly on the underside of leaves, and feed by piercing the leaf tissue and sucking out plant fluids. These vegetarian vampires can cause leaves to turn yellow, dry up and drop off. To get rid of these suckers, we release an almighty, predatory mite. They hunt the spider mites and, in a twist of fate, suck them dry in an incredible one-on-one fight. It’s not pretty, but fighting vampires rarely is.
Round 3 – Mealybug vs. Beetle
Mealybugs may sound cute, but they are a fearful enemy that causes considerable crop damage. When they feed on our flowers they cause misshapen and yellow leaves. To get rid of these nightmarish bugs Bloomia releases predatory beetles on its plants. With their voracious appetites, they make short work of this troublesome pest.
Source: Bloomia (Alberto Aceves)