This article is part of the Woodleaf Farm Organic Systems Description.
Table 1. Woodleaf Farm Insect Management System
Strategies and Tools | Implementation Details |
I. Landscape-level design | |
| Design fields to favor biological control agents | Farm is surrounded by native oak/pine forest, isolated from other fruit and vegetable farms. A patchwork of 1- to 1.5-acre crop fields is separated by native forest on 90% of field margins (Fig. 2: Farm Fields & Soils Map). |
| Practice temporal rotation | Rotation is weak, as peaches are more than 50% of total acres. Rotations include apples, pears, and vegetable crops, but fields are sometimes replanted to peaches. |
| Design for spatial diversity | Fields are bordered by tall native oaks. Within fields, tall perennial tree crops are mixed with shorter annual vegetable crops and perennial groundcover. |
II. Soil-building for insect pest suppression | |
| Add organic soil amendments | High-carbon/low-nitrogen organic residues are surface applied annually: mowed living mulch residue, chipped branch wood, and yard waste compost. |
| Reduce tillage | Tillage is practiced only when fields are brought into production or are renovated. |
| Optimize quantity and quality of soil organic matter (SOM) | Organic residues vary in carbon content and ease of decomposition. Soil organic matter increased from an average of 2.4% in 1982 to an average of 5.1% in 2014 (Soil Fig. 1). |
| Increase below-ground plant diversity | A living mulch is planted beneath and between crop rows. The living mulch contains diverse annual and perennial species with different rooting types. |
| Optimize soil potassium levels | See Soil Fig. 16. [link to Soil figure 16: "Soil potassium trends, 1982–2014" in Soil section] Potassium is supplied by the foliar mineral mix and organic residues. |
| Match nitrogen supply with crop need | Many applied residues gradually supply nitrogen due to their high carbon:nitrogen ratios. |
| Optimize soil calcium levels and cation balance | Gypsum is applied each spring at 250 lb/acre. |
III. Habitat-building | See also Natural Enemy Habitat. |
| Create diverse below-ground habitat | A living mulch is planted beneath and between crop rows. The living mulch contains diverse annual and perennial species with different rooting types. |
| Create diverse above-ground habitat at the landscape level | Diverse native habitat (forest, grassland, and riparian) is maintained on 90% of field margins. Most roads on the farm are covered with grass or perennial living mulch. |
| Create diverse above-ground habitat at the field level | The living mulch contains diverse annual and perennial species. Between 30 and 50% of total acreage is planted in cover crops. Diverse fruit species and cultivars are interplanted with patches of vegetable crops. Row-by-row and within-row mixtures of fruit crops include 50 peach, 50 apple, and 12 pear cultivars (Disease Table 2). |
| Use blooming winter and summer cover crops | The living mulch bloom sequence extends nearly 11 months, from early February through late December. Some species are allowed to flower all season due to selective and reduced mowing. |
| Provide winter cover and refuge for beneficial organisms | The living mulch provides year-round habitat. |
| Install grassy beetle banks | Rather than installing beetle banks, Carl Rosato maintains undisturbed grassy areas in the living mulch between crop rows. |
| Manage living mulch mowing to optimize predator/parasite populations | Selective and reduced mowing of the living mulch all season, and especially in spring, enhances ground-dwelling predator populations and provides pest control. |
IV. Monitoring and identification of insect pests/beneficials | |
| Scout crops and monitor for pests and beneficials | Scouting for insect and disease pests and beneficials is done every 5 to 14 days. |
| Identify pests and beneficials | Scouting for insect and disease pests and beneficials is done every 5 to 14 days. |
| Keep records | Spray records have been kept since 1998. Pest incidence records have been kept since 2012. |
| Use monitoring data to inform management decisions | Sprays are applied only when pests reach a threshold, based on monitoring. |
V. Supplemental inputs | |
| Use selective organic insecticides | Bt and Spinosad (Entrust) have been used to avoid killing beneficial insects (Insect Table 2). |
| Reduce organic insecticide sprays | Insecticide use decreased from the 1990s through 2014 (Fig 1). |
This article is part of the Woodleaf Farm Organic Systems Description.
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