Greenhouse Morron pepper producers lose around RD$180 million per year as a result of the damage caused by thrips; insects which can be controlled biologically and with cultural practices, but which growers tackle with chemicals.
In workshops organised with producers in Constanza, Jarabacoa and San José Ocoa by Farmer to Farmer, a program of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the cost of thrips control was determined at RD$50 million per year, as RD$24 per square metre have to be spent on chemicals. They assure that this cost could be reduced by 50% with integrated pest control techniques.
It is estimated that 10% of all Morron peppers produced in the country (around 9 million pounds) are damaged by mechanical or viral processes related to thrips.
Source: hoy.com.do