Sam Gui, IPM and Pollination Specialist at Biobest says: “A small army of Amblyseius swirskii will effectively prevent the development of thrips and whitefly. During the propagation of young plants, pest pressure generally remains low. The swirskii army therefore needs additional food to establish itself preventatively. We recommend growers use Nutrimite, which is easy to apply using the Nutri App blower. This nutritional supplement makes earlier introduction of the predatory mites possible and helps promote successful establishment in the crop."
But cucumber plants have additional enemies and it is crucial to control aphids as early as possible. Sam advises: “Biobest’s Aphi-Mix-System combined with Aphidoletes-System is the ideal solution for aphid infestations. This 'mix' of parasitic wasp species offers broad preventative control against numerous aphid species. Monitoring this pest is very difficult due to the high plant density. The AphiMix-System therefore has an important role to play in a general prevention strategy. When applied correctly, the parasitic wasp will attack and control aphids before the grower has even noticed their presence."