Survey Results Reveal Fruit Growers’ Relationship With Biologicals
July 1, 2022 Biological products have now been mainstream for about a decade, but growers responding to American Fruit Grower’s annual State of the Industry survey say they still need more information about them prior to implementation.
Several growers responding to the survey say they weren’t very familiar with the products at all, which is surprising as the industry’s toolbox keeps getting markedly softer, as many old standbys such as chlorpyrifos get taken off the market. However, many growers say they simply need more information.
“I have not familiarized myself with them,” is a common theme.
Still others say their lack of understanding stems from the fact the decision isn’t even made by them on their farm, revealing how strong the strong influence of farm managers and pest control advisers.
“I’m unaware of use of biological products,” says one, “but my farm manager may use some.”
Says another: “I do what my scout says. I am not up on the details.”
It’s not a simple lack of awareness of the products, say several other growers, but a lack of details.
“[I’m] still learning about when to apply and how effective [they] can be,” says one grower in a typical response.
Other common responses: “I need to get a better understanding of how they’d fit with our operation,” and “Looking into it but haven’t figured out how to best use them.”
Still other growers wonder if it was because of their relatively small amount of acreage. Smaller growers are well-represented in this year’s survey, and say they can be overlooked, such as the following grower.
“Finding the products, [because] I read about new things, but then cannot find a source for them,” he says. “It is understandable that many companies do not want to deal with small operations.”
OTHER FACTORS
Several growers responding to the survey also say biological products tend to be both more expensive, and they’re not convinced the expense is justified as of yet through field trials.
“[The) price increase is more than 15%, and there’s not enough Extension research,” says one grower.
Still others agree, though they say the efficacy of biological products is absolutely not in doubt.
“Overall, it’s cheaper to utilize synthetic products in place of bio-products,” says one grower. “I do find, when timed correctly, bio-products work just as good if not better.”
Growers have often complained in recent years that invasive insects such as spotted wing drosophila can wreak havoc on their IPM programs. Interestingly, a handful of citrus growers say they were either planning to use biological products; or were already using them prior to having to spray for Asian citrus psyllid (ACP), which causes an uncurable disease, Huanglongbing.
“I used them, too, before they required four4 ACP sprays per season,” one citrus grower concludes.
Stay tuned this month as we will be releasing more results from this year’s State of the Fruit and Nut Industry survey.
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