The easiest way to avoid pests and plant diseases is to prevent them from entering your farm in the first place. Below are our recommended best practices for preventing pest and plant diseases at your farm. View our Food Safety Checklist for proper food safety protocols.
Entry:
Limit the time the door is open to the room.
Do not bring other plant material or soil from the outside into the room.
Keep visitors to the room at a minimum. Have a spray bottle with 3% hydrogen peroxide next to the door for people to spray their shoes upon entry.
Air:
Ensure humidity levels are within the universal setpoint of 50-70%. High humidity levels increase the risk of disease.
To help reduce humidity levels and increase airflow around the plants, add a pedestal oscillating fan or mount hurricane fans
Ensure temperature levels are with the universal setpoints of 65 F - 75 F. Large temperature variations can cause plant stress, leading to potential disease/pest risks.
If intake and exhaust fans are a concern for pest entry, install pest screens.
Cleanliness:
Follow proper post-harvest cleaning, water refresh, and deep cleaning cadences to ensure clean equipment and water.
Remove all plant debris from the room immediately (this includes garbage cans daily).
Daily Walkarounds:
While completing your daily walkthroughs, look out for any pests or disease indicators (white powder on plants, roots rotting (very brown/slimy), bite marks, etc.) you can also use sticky cards to monitor pests.
Plant Health & Spacing:
Weak or sick plants are more likely to attract pests and diseases. Identifying these plants and discarding them will reduce future risks.
Plants that are overlapping create inadequate airflow increasing the chance of disease and for pests to travel from plant to plant. Space plants accordingly and harvest when plants begin to crowd each other (unable to see any white from Flex Farm panels)