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Interior Plants

Interior Plant Maintenance Intergrated
Pest Management Program:

Integrated Pest Management is a holistic approach to ward off attack by insects and disease. It is an approach encompassing all aspects of plant maintenance using three systems: cultural, biological, and if required, chemical controls. Primarily, a tight maintenance schedule and highly-trained personnel are required to run such a program. There is heavy reliance on various plant cultural aspects such as pruning, tilling soil, washing off foliage, proper watering and proper fertilization. When the plants are maintained in the best possible health using a strict regime of care and attention, the outbreaks of pests are quickly and easily eliminated. If the plant becomes seriously ill from the pests, stage two begins.

Biological control is the secondary line of defence. This is the use of beneficial organisms to combat the destructive organisms. It involves taking advantage of the natural predators a pest would normally encounter in the wild. To achieve biological control, we require a thorough knowledge of plant systems and botanical requirements as well as an understanding of economic entomology.

Economic entomology is the study of the minimization of losses by destructive insects and the maximization of benefits from beneficial insects. For example, in one of our contracts, the aphids were sucking the sap from the plants and causing foliar damage and stunted growth. The population of aphids was as high as 100 insects per leaf. We released an aphid predator called Aphidoletes aphidimyza and an aphid parasite called Aphidius matricariae which searched for, parasitized, and ate the aphids. After one month, the aphid population had dropped to less than two insects per leaf. Within two months, an equilibrium was established between the pest and beneficial insects. A delicate balance between beneficial and destructive insects existed in an artificial environment. Population dynamics and control of each species became important for the establishment of a sustainable mini-ecosystem. Once we began using the bio-control agents, the need for pesticides was eliminated. All our maintenance techniques revolved around the life-cycles of the pests, predators, and plants. In determining what maintenance was required for the plants, we had to consider how the insects and predators would be affected.

The third stage of the IPM system is the last resort. It is the use of chemical treatment when all else has failed to provide sufficient control. However, the use of chemicals is restricted to spot-treatments with very low toxicity chemicals so as to minimize the harm to the biological agents, environment, or the personnel in the area. A successful bio-control program eliminated the need for pesticides. In many of our contracts, the bio-control program has been a great success and we have reduced our insecticide usage 95% since we have been using the IPM system.

Integrated Pest Management is a systems approach to the control of insects and disease within a plant population. It involves looking at all aspects of control of the plants to maximize the interiorscape benefits while minimizing the harmful effects fo pests. The dangers of pesticide use are continually being explored and documented. While we have always chosen the safest route in our pesticide usage, we felt we could further reduce (even eliminate) the need for pesticides altogether. Thus, we could provide enjoyable gardens which would no longer have to be closed for pest control because of the use of pesticides which create ill effects on the environment. Using Integrated Pest Management, Murray's Horticultural Services has "greened" a small portion of the environment for everyone.

Murray's Horticultural Services Ltd. is continuing to follow developments in the fields of Integrated Pest Management and Biological Control through continuous dialogue with the academic community and through our involvement with horticultural trade organizations throughout Canada, the United States and Europe.

We are firmly committed to keeping abreast of future developments within this exciting and dynamic new field of ornamental plantscape maintenance. In this way, we can provide our customer with world-class, environmentally-responsible service.